Big Shoulders Fund of NWI works to fulfill a simple mission – “Provide support to inner-city schools which provide a quality, values-based education.” That support takes many forms, from supplying meals to families in need or enhancing internet access, to offering vouchers and scholarships that help families afford a quality education. Big Shoulders Fund also works directly with the schools and educators of the Diocese of Gary to enhance their ability to serve Northwest Indiana’s children.
In August, Big Shoulders Fund NWI partnered with Purdue University Northwest to host their first ever Leadership Conference with the theme “Building Leaders for Today and Tomorrow.” Over 100 attendees from all 20 schools in the Diocese of Gary took part in 15 different sessions and discussions designed to address needs pointed out by the leaders of the Region’s Catholic schools.
“It was great to see leaders sharing thoughts with other leaders and knowing that they had a true support system behind them, both in their fellow leaders and in Big Shoulders Fund,” said Dan Kozlowski, regional director of Big Shoulders Fund. “You could tell that each person that attended left with many ideas and thoughts to implement in their schools and were excited and energized to begin the new school year.”
The 30 speakers and panelists each focused on a different topic, but united around the core concept of building better leaders throughout every level of an organization. William Hanna, executive director of the Dean & Barbara White Family Foundation, for example, used his opening keynote to discuss the importance of “Leading for Collaboration.”
“I hope that the leadership conference will encourage our principals to share the responsibility of running their schools with those individuals within their organization that exhibit the traits of a future leader,” Kozlowski said. “By allowing our principals to share the daily responsibility of running the school, it will give them more time to focus on academic and social/emotional-related issues. We’re encouraged that this will produce a better experience for our students to learn and grow.”
Other speakers included Br. Michael Quirk, president & CEO of Christian Brother Services, Danielle Robison, director of the Patrons Program at Big Shoulders Fund, and Josh Hale, Big Shoulders Fund CEO. Educators throughout the diocese left overwhelmingly positive feedback according to Kozlowski, who shared one unprompted response.
“Thank you so much for all your efforts in putting this leadership conference together,” the educator said. “In my 11 years in the diocese, this was by far the most informative and meaningful conference. It was a great way to start this crazy year, and I left with great ideas for my PD with my staff. It’s so exciting to see change happening in the diocese.”
The Big Shoulders Fund team is already at work planning the 2022 Leadership Conference, which they hope to expand in both time and scope. To learn more about Big Shoulders Fund, visit bigshouldersfund.org.
