Big Shoulders Fund 25th Anniversary Dinner
This special 25th Anniversary Dinner celebrated the important mission of the Big Shoulders Fund – to support inner-city schools serving children in disadvantaged neighborhoods all across Chicago while recognizing the contributions of the 10 founders and the many hundreds of supporters who followed in their footsteps. All of the funds raised are directed to help give the students the opportunity to study for a brighter future.
PJH Contact: Kara Forrestal e-mail
Big Shoulders
Twenty-five years ago, the late Cardinal Bernardin inspired a group of prominent local business leaders to create the Big Shoulders Fund to assist inner-city children with access to an effective education in a Catholic school serving in the neediest areas of Chicago. Today, Big Shoulders Fund has an endowment to cover its administrative expenses ensuring all donations go directly to the nearly 24,000 children – 80 percent minority and 61 percent living in poverty – who attend the 93 inner-city Catholic schools it serves. Big Shoulders provides funding for, among other things, scholarships, extended day and enrichment programs, technology and instructional equipment, capital improvements, professional development for teachers, and operating grants.