Teachers in North and West Vancouver schools are hoping to fuel up their classroom projects with a new source of funding next month.
Both local school districts recently signed on to a program that links teachers' classroom wish lists with donations from Chevron - based on how much gas drivers buy from the company within the school district's geographic area.
Under the program, Chevron contributes $1 to the school needs program for every fill-up of at least $30 in North Vancouver or West Vancouver during the month of November.
North Vancouver projects are eligible for up to $100,000 of potential funding, while West Vancouver schools could see up to $40,000. The program, which focuses on science and technology, looks to provide "extras" not covered in regular funding. That could include anything from a high-end microscope to a robotics kit. Books, musical instruments and science supplies could also be eligible for funding.
"It's a broad program," said Victoria Miles, spokeswoman for the North Vancouver School District.
Among the projects that local teachers are hoping to fund are two tents for an outdoor education program at Sutherland and a vacuum press for a woodworking class at Argyle. Both cost about $1,000.
Both local school districts are leaving it up to teachers to decide if they want to apply for the money.
The program was first tried out in B.C. last year in the Surrey school district, where schools received $200,000 in funding from the program. "We had good feedback from them" about the program, said West Vancouver schools superintendent Chris Kennedy.
The program has been more controversial in some school districts. The Vancouver school board rejected the corporate funding earlier this year, after the company requested that it co-ordinate requests, saying the company was offering the money "with strings attached" since the Fuel Your School logo would appear at local gas stations.
But neither North nor West Vancouver school districts have had a problem with the program. There is no advertising of the program in schools and no promotion of products through the school system, said Kennedy. "It didn't raise any concerns."
The Chevron program works in conjunction with My Class Needs, a Canadian non-profit organization that crowdsources money for school projects.
Anyone can go online and also donate money to the projects put forward for the Fuel Your School funding.
