At Lakeview Elementary’s Community Learning Center (CLC), learning doesn’t stop when the school day ends. Each morning and afternoon, students participate in a blend of STEM-based educational enrichment, recreation, and physical activity, centered around a monthly theme.
Recently, that theme took students far beyond Earth.
During a unit on the solar system, CLC students dove into research on planets, exploring their sizes, temperatures, atmospheres, and even debating whether life could exist on them. Thanks to a Fund a Need request fulfilled by a generous community donor, students were able to use brand-new iPads to explore the solar system and bring learning to life for every monthly theme.
Fund a Need is the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools’ crowdfunding platform that allows teachers and school staff to request funding for classroom projects, resources, and experiences that enhance student learning. Educators submit requests for specific needs, and community members can choose to directly support the projects that matter most to them, turning generosity into real, immediate impact for LPS students.
Learning doesn’t stand still, and neither do students' learning methods. As our world becomes more digital, schools work hard to keep pace with the tools students need to explore, create, and grow. That’s where Fund a Need makes a real difference.
Lakeview’s CLC Site Community Coordinator, Gina Benne, put it simply, “Things like Fund a Need are so needed. As a before-and-after school program, we would not be able to make a purchase like this without help.”
With access to iPads, learning feels faster, more flexible, and more engaging, allowing students to dive into images and videos, compare ideas, and follow their curiosity wherever it leads.
That access has made a noticeable difference in engagement. For example, students might be given a prompt like: Create a poster of a planet with a picture and five facts. With the iPads, they independently researched their planet, gathered information, drew illustrations, and then proudly shared their work with the group. The process builds not only content knowledge, but also digital literacy and a sense of ownership over their learning.
The iPads also open the door for learning that extends beyond CLC programming. The skills students are developing (research, critical thinking, and responsible use of technology) will directly support them during the school day and in future classes.
Educators know better than anyone what their students need to succeed. That’s why requesting support through the Foundation’s Fund a Need platform is intentionally simple. Designed to help educators and programs directly communicate specific classroom needs, the platform makes it easy to share the vision and potential impact of the request.
When Gina learned the request was fully funded, the excitement was immediate, but the best moment came later. “Instead of telling students right away that the iPads were purchased, I instead told students we had a fun activity planned.” Then came the surprise: brand-new iPads, just for them. The reactions said it all: “Really? These are brand new and they’re for us?” and “Whoa, you got us iPads?”
Moments like these are exactly why Fund a Need exists.
To the donor who made this possible: your generosity is felt every day in the excitement, creativity, and discovery happening at Lakeview’s Community Learning Center. You helped open new worlds for students, and that impact will last far beyond this unit on the solar system.
Opportunities like Fund a Need remind us what’s possible when a community comes together for students. When needs extend beyond what traditional funding can cover, generosity steps in, and learning soars. Explore all active Fund a Needs and make an impact today!
