Donate to West Coast Institute

West Coast Institute is happy to receive donations towards our Dorothy Olsen Fund, IDEA Scholarship Fund, and Marjorie Thatcher EC Library Fund through CanadaHelps.org. See details about each fund below the donation form.

Dorothy Olsen Fund

Dorothy Olsen was a co-founder of the West Coast Institute along with Marjorie Thatcher.  Dorothy, with perseverance and care-filled attention, was a big supporter of Waldorf Education and she helped initiate early childhood programs in several Canadian provinces. She also was the early childhood program director at the Rudolf Steiner Center in Toronto for many years.

Dorothy told many of us that her greatest contribution to this work was the founding of the West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy. Wishing to keep her name close to our hearts, we have started The Dorothy Olsen Fund. Contributions to this fund will help keep tuition fees as low as possible, and will also support those who are in need of bursaries. Just as Dorothy’s legacy influenced so many in our past, we intend that the Dorothy Olsen Fund will help the teachers that are now in training to carry the light of Waldorf Education and the care of young children into the future.

Dorothy died on August 11, 2022. Her legacy will live on through the work that she initiated and through those who graduate from the West Coast Institute. Your contributions are greatly appreciated, and will further the gifts that Dorothy so generously gave.

In gratitude,
from the Board of The West Coast Institute

IDEA Scholarship Fund

At the West Coast Institute we understand that each human being is an entity of body, soul and spirit; we respect the integrity and individuality of everyone.

We strive to provide educational training that is representative of the society we serve, acknowledging that this society includes all ages, a variety of gender identities, and diverse cultures and ethnicities. The greatest impact we can have on this effort is by making our educational training programs accessible and welcoming to a rich and diverse body of students. To this end we have established a scholarship fund for teacher training that is dedicated to aiding students from underserved groups and communities, with priority given to Black and Indigenous candidates.

The systemic change that is being undertaken in the Waldorf movement includes welcoming and making nourishing and inclusive space for more teachers of color who will infuse the work of Waldorf education with their authentic lived experience and perspective. In this way, as we take up the task of examining our role and responsibility in perpetuating systems of racism, we work towards a more just and equitable future for Waldorf education and the communities it serves.

Marjorie Thatcher Early Childhood Library Fund

Marjorie Thatcher was a co-founder of the West Coast Institute (WCI) along with Dorothy Olsen.  Marjorie had a connection to the work of Rudolf Steiner since she was a child in New Zealand.  In addition to her work as an early childhood teacher at the Vancouver Waldorf School for many years, she was among the founders of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN). Marjorie had a particular interest in helping parents and colleagues understand the significant work of the early years for the life of the human being.  To this end she began hosting teachers conferences in Western Canada. She was also active in developing the work with the very young – those in the first three years of life.

Marjorie, like Dorothy, expressed what an important part of her life’s work the founding the West Coast Institute was.

During the last weeks of her life, she spoke with us about creating an early childhood library for students of the West Coast Institute and parents, offering her personal collection of books as a base for the library.

With the support of Marjorie’s husband, Philip Thatcher, we have started The Marjorie Thatcher Early Childhood Library Fund. Contributions to this fund will help keep the library up to date with new books and other publications.  The library is located at the Vancouver Waldorf School, in the Marjorie Thatcher Room located in the Early Childhood building.

We intend that the Fund will help the student teachers to deepen their understanding of Waldorf pedagogy and the care of young children into the future.

Marjorie died on September 17, 2023.  Her legacy will live on through the work that she initiated and through those who graduate from the West Coast Institute. Your contributions are greatly appreciated, and will further extend the gifts that Marjorie offered in her lifetime.

In gratitude,
from the Board of The West Coast Institute

You can donate to the Marjorie Thatcher EC Library Fund by selecting it in the funds drop down menu. Funds sort alphabetically.

About CanadaHelps.org

For more than 20 years, CanadaHelps has been the trusted charity, informing, inspiring and connecting charities and donors, with the causes they care about.

Mission
To inform, inspire, and connect donors and charities, and to democratize access to effective technology and education in the charitable sector.

Vision
We envision a society in which all Canadians are committed to giving and participating in the charitable sector, and in which all charities, regardless of size, have the capacity to increase their impact.