The organization is especially vigilant in its commitment to providing funding for valuable but costly education projects that would probably never see the light of day due to tight budgets and urgent needs in other sectors of the Laurier Board, one of Quebec's largest educational jurisdictions encompassing about 40 schools and several continuing education centres, from Laval to Mont-Laurier.
The substantial legacy established by the Laurier Foundation in just a few years could well serve as model throughout the world of education. The foundation has proven to be a sound basis for effective ways and means of enhancing education, and a source of successful measures for bringing to public schools and to their pedagogical programs state-of-the-art technology at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
Not when you listen to founder Steve Bletas, who humbly acknowledges the role of the foundation and proudly specifies that this venture into private-public partnership is the result of a generous community which places quality education at the top of its list of priorities. "Since its creation in 2004, the objectives of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Foundation have been to promote and sustain educational, cultural, recreational, artistic and athletic programs," Mr. Bletas told a gathering of about 400 supporters who attended the Foundation's first fundraiser of 2009. "To this end," Mr. Bletas proudly added, "the Foundation has distributed to all the schools and centers under the jurisdiction of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board: 40 multimedia projectors in 2006; 40 interactive white boards in 2007; in 2008, $50,000 was contributed towards safety and security initiatives of the school board, and more than 50 citizenship bursaries of $100 and $500 were awarded to graduating students in the youth and adult sectors. This represents a total investment of over $250,000."
More services on the horizonThe proceeds raised through the January 8 fundraiser and lottery will go towards a career exploration lab. This initiative of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board, said Mr. Bletas, will allow students to explore specific career areas and gain hands-on experience with machines and software that professionals currently use in their fields of activity.
The exploration lab, to consist of 16 modules, each offering close to 20 different activities, will provide student opportunities for careers in Transportation Design, Robotics, Graphic Design, Meteorology, Vinyl Sign-making, Flight Transportation, Nutrition and Wellness, Hospitality and Tourism, Global Positioning Systems, Biotechnology, Computer Animation, Digital Photography, Engineering Structures, Electronics, Rocketry and Space, and Home Maintenance.
"A project of this magnitude is estimated at a cost of $200,000," Mr. Bletas specified. In its first phase the venture targets secondary III students in the Laval/ Laurentides/Lanaudière region. The plan then calls for access to the lab to be extended to all students, the community-at-large, and other school boards English or French.
"This new and exciting endeavour has already aroused considerable interest in the
educational and business sectors," Mr. Bletas stated, adding that the school board looks forward to partnering up with industry leaders and contributing to a qualified work force in the region.
In his "State-of-the-Foundation" presentation, Mr. Bletas also acknowledged the various partners who have offered financial support to the School Board through the purchase of the various modules of this career exploration lab: the CRE (Conference Régionale des Élus, Ville de Laval, Caisse Desjardins, LEARN (Leading English Education and Resource Network), the CLD (Conseil Local de Developpement, Groupe Montoni, BMW Laval, the CCQ (Commission de la Construction du Québec), the CSSS (Centre de Santé et de Service Sociaux de Laval), the INRS (Institut National de Recherche Scientifique), Tourisme Laval, SEPB 577- support staff union of the SWLSB, and the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Foundation.
In addition, Mr. Bletas announced that the Laurier Foundation made a commitment to offer financial support to the exploration lab initiative by continuing to raise funds through events such as the one held January 8.
"The funds will support delivery of the service to students by assuming operating costs of the project," he explained. "This will enable a completely self-financed operation. Le Ministère D’Education du Sports et Loisirs is encouraging all school boards to seek out partnerships with our communities and private businesses," he added, suggesting that the school board and the foundation fully endorse the MELS approach.
"We envision a second exploration Lab in our future Vocational Education Centre in the lower Laurentian area, a request which is yet to be analyzed by the Ministry. We hold high hopes for our needs to be heard. If our proposal is supported by MELS, a second Career Exploration Lab could be housed in this new centre following the same structure but with the industries present in the Laurentians area," Mr. Bletas concluded.
