OUR STORY
The LlamaLink Story
Llama [lah-muh]: symbol of endurance, balanced action
Llamas have many lessons to teach. Using their endurance to persevere under difficult situations, their work ethic and dependable nature always leads them towards a worthy goal.
Our Head Llama, Sara, has experienced the childcare profession both as a full-time teacher, as well as a substitute, and understands the desperation a child care worker feels when trying to fill a shift. Realizing the need for a change, Sara investigated ways to improve the system and find a solution herself.
This system became LlamaLink!
Inspired by the llama, known for its resilience, hard work, and dependability (much like child care workers), LlamaLink is an online database and alert system that creates an easy and quick connection between Child Care Centres and Substitutes.
Like llamas, we function as a herd, and as more join the herd, our system will become more efficient, more reliable, and stronger. LlamaLink is fast, affordable, dependable, and integral to the running of all quality Child Care Centres.
Sara's Story
Our Head Llama, Sara, knows the struggle of trying to balance it all while feeling the weight of that stress slowing you down. As a licensed early childhood educator, Sara has worked in daycares and preschools since 2007. Like many childcare workers, she frequently became sick during her first year in the field. She began walking the narrow line between job dedication and self-care.
The more invested that Sara became in her preschool position — eventually moving into a supervisory role — the fewer sick days she took. She chose to work through the coughing, runny nose, aching muscles, and fatigue over the anxiety of hours calling unknown people on a list. At minimum, she hoped that someone would be available to cover just half of her shift, let alone be qualified enough to support her co-workers in her absence.
After a year and a half away from the profession to have a child of her own, Sara returned to the front line working as a daycare substitute on a part-time basis. She loved the flexible hours, not having to commit to a full-time job, and having time to focus on her family while being able to stay in the field that she loved so much.
Sara’s daycare colleagues were thrilled to have another qualified substitute added to their list. However, Sara’s availability was limited due to her own child care needs; she began receiving countless, heartbreaking texts from colleagues with last-minute illnesses and was reminded of the desperation she once felt when trying to fill a shift.
Believing in system changes rather than Band-Aid fixes, Sara knew that a solution was needed.
LlamaLink was born.
Contact LlamaLink Today
Are you a Child Care Centre in B.C. that wants a solution to the crisis of securing quality Substitute Child Care workers? LlamaLink enables you to spend less time managing absences and substitute lists which means more time to do what really counts – taking care of children.