Helping children obtain the best education available is the mission of Big Shoulders Fund. Big Shoulders Fund recently introduced a website to help Northwest Indiana families understand the benefits of the Indiana Choice Scholarship, also known as the voucher program. Parents can visit www.NWIChoiceScholar.org, and in just a few minutes, will be able to calculate an exact amount of tuition support they may qualify for the calculator, which launched on January 25, will help several families navigate the often-complicated process of state-backed scholarships.
Dan Kozlowski, Regional Director of Northwest Indiana Initiative at Big Shoulders Fund, has been spreading the word that the calculator will help families in need of guidance when choosing a Catholic school for their children to attend.
“We created a powerful tool to help families navigate and quantify the amount they would qualify for through Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program,” Kozlowski said. “The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program helps families financially afford to send their children to private schools. It’s our mission to help families to send their kids to Catholic schools.”
Big Shoulders Fund, which was founded in 1986, has been helping bring private education to lower-income areas. They work actively with 76 elementary schools and 17 high schools in the greater Chicago area. Helping lower-income areas provide great education to the future of their communities has inspired Big Shoulders Fund to expand into Northwest Indiana, thanks to a 10-year, $16 million gift from Beth and Bruce White of White Lodging. Kozlowski, who has helped lead the Northwest Indiana Initiative since 2019, believes that Big Shoulders Fund will find success in Northwest Indiana.
“As someone who came from a Catholic education and has children in the Catholic school, I truly believe that helping others get the best education will lead to a better future,” Kozlowski said. “Applying for the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program can be really confusing and complicated for families, and the calculator on our new website will help families find out how much help they can get from the state to send their kids to quality private schools. Helping families and improving the future of the community is something we really strive for at Big Shoulders Fund.”
The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program provides opportunities for children to get the best education they can. Although the word voucher can sometimes come with a negative connotation of the program being for lower-income families, that is not always the case.
“There have been some that have responded to the idea of the voucher program negatively; that it’s directed toward lower-income families,” Kozlowski said. “That’s not always the case. The calculator will help families understand the amount they might be eligible for, and we will help them determine how they can affordably send their child to one of our Catholic schools. If the resources and tools are out there, use them!”
If you or your family are interested in the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program, please visit www.nwichoicescholar.org. To see how Big Shoulders Fund is giving back to the communities they serve, go to https://bigshouldersfund.org/.
