seven concentric circles of sponsorship
Your contribution to Canadian Classroom On Rails … can be casual or committed as you choose. This is more about quality of commitment than size of contribution.
Credit – unless you choose otherwise, your contribution to Canadian Classroom is acknowledged on this site, posted on a bulletin board on the train and listed in the passport participants carry with them. This posting is you a chance to say something about who you are, your business enterprise and other interests especially as they touch on your hopes for the country
Contacts – if you come out to meet us and especially if you ride with us for part of the journey, you’ll meet our students and staff. Some may be individuals you’d like to hire or recommend to friends and colleagues. Others may look you up as part of projects they’re working on to complete Classroom … course requirements. Some may become ongoing …
Connections as protégés you mentor, consult or call on when you’re in their part of the country. We’ve identified connectedness as a prime Canadian value. Classroom students who spend seven weeks together will have a lifelong network of cross-country connections. You can too if you make a point of meeting a number of them and of keeping in touch.
Contracting – You may be a supplier or provider of one of the many services we use to operate cross-country and decide to donate part of that service. You may go further and ask to have your business, family homestead or some other point included in Canadian Classroom’s itinerary. At this point you’re more than a contributor; you’ve become a colleague …
Collegiality – Collegial sponsorship goes beyond a donation or business transaction and approaches partnership. Sponsors at this level of commitment are contributors to the overall shape of Classroom …, not only of specific items. If they are transport carriers, educational or hospitality institutions, they may become major players in program development.
Covenanting – This old word for contracting now has religious or intimate personal meaning. We use it to refer to those of our sponsors who actively share the Canadian “spiritual values that are international in scope.” Such a commitment goes beyond a balance sheet or transaction. These are values one stakes life and livelihood on. (See ___)
Climate/Country Change – This brings us to “They desire a better country” the motto of the Order of Canada and “s/he shall speak peace” preceding the motto of Canada (“Dominion from sea to sea”) as found at Zechariah 9:11.
Sponsors committed to shaping a country in accord with such values are natural long term allies of Canadian Classroom …
This is not the type of makeover boasted by politicians who say, “You won’t recognize this country in _ years.” It is an example that can be lived and offered, not something imposed top-down.
Canada has had a tradition of evolutionary change where we can learn from mistakes and develop models that serve us. This offers economic stability for business and respects and recognizes people as more than consumers and producers.
This tradition has been modeled by aboriginal and immigrant, religious and secular, capitalist, and social democrat. It has created a climate where cooperative planning and individual initiative are not at odds, where a transcendent ideal (dominion) and public participation (democracy) can come together.
The values of Kanata, a country whose name means “village” or “meeting place” are seen in relationships of our best leaders and communities: how they related to the land, to each other and to our fellow citizens of the world. Identifying, nurturing and launching leaders in that spirit is Canadian Classroom‘s purpose.
Sponsors, whatever their origins, who share this vision and commitment are our partners in the full sense of the word.