On Saturday, July 8, Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana headed out to East Chicago to help St. Stanislaus Catholic School put on its second annual Rock the Block. The event brought the community together and showcased everything St. Stanislaus has to offer. Children and their families gathered in St. Stanislaus’ parking lot for an afternoon of lighthearted, community fun. By the end of the day, everyone left knowing more about and feeling even greater pride for such a wonderful school.
St. Stanislaus and Big Shoulders Fund came up with the idea for Rock the Block right after the pandemic. St. Stanislaus’ enrollment numbers were a bit low due to many families facing financial difficulties, and since East Chicago is such a tight-knit community, the St. Stanislaus staff felt that a fun, positive event was the perfect way to unite everyone after being isolated for so long.
“The goal of the day is to be present in our community and spread some joy, as well as introduce new families to our school and promote it as a potential place to send their children,” said Angelica Foy, principal of St. Stanislaus.
Last year’s Rock the Block was a huge success, and the Big Shoulders Fund team couldn’t wait to come back out and support this year’s event. The goal was to make it even bigger to raise more awareness for everything St. Stanislaus provides.
“We love putting on events like this to try to get communities to engage with their local schools. We really want St. Stanislaus to be able to continue to provide a high-quality education for the area and grow their enrollment. It is currently the only Catholic school in East Chicago and it has a very long and rich history that is important to the community. St. Stanislaus is definitely a school that the community can use and needs,” said Eric Roldan Assistant Director of Marketing and Enrollment for Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana.
Even with a little rain, this year’s Rock the Block was a hit. The band Together came out and put on an astounding performance that people couldn’t help but take up an umbrella and dance along to. Several artisan vendors set up booths for attendees to leisurely peruse, FlakosTacos and Paleteria La Monarka provided delicious free food, kids had a blast getting their faces painted for free, and families enjoyed all kinds of yard games like giant Jenga and cornhole.
As kids raced around the parking lot with smiles and paint plastered across their faces, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the event provided the perfect sense of community.
“I’m so happy to see so many people here. It’s a rainy day and we were worried people wouldn’t come out, but our community is showing up and the kids are having a wonderful time. Many of our current students have come out today and it’s so nice to see all of their faces since we haven’t seen them since school ended in May. I’ve had several students run up to me and give me hugs and say they’ve missed me. Today’s just really amazing,” said Foy.
Most importantly, the event helped St. Stanislaus spread the word about their programs. Throughout the day, St. Stanislaus staff held several school tours so that kids and their families could walk through the school for themselves and see what a day at St. Stanislaus would look like. The school even waived the application fee for the day so that families who liked St. Stanislaus could start the application process for their child right away.
“Our school offers a wonderful educational opportunity for students. We have small size classes and truly dedicated faculty and staff. Everyone knows each other and the parents here are so involved. St. Stanislaus really is just a wonderful place to work and a wonderful place to go to school. We’re like a family,” explained Foy.
Ultimately, St. Stanislaus’ second annual Rock the Block couldn’t have had a bigger impact. Foy is thankful to Big Shoulders Fund for helping her make such a wonderful event possible.
“Big Shoulders Fund has been our biggest cheerleader. Anytime I have a problem with something or an idea that I want to try to build on they help me grow it and take everything to the next level. They’ve also helped us offer things like teacher professional development programming and after-school programming for the students. They even helped us build a new playground. They’ve really just helped us grow and succeed and we’re super grateful for their support,” said Foy.
Foy is also grateful to all of the day’s sponsors. Without the support of such a tight-knit community, Rock the Block couldn’t have been possible.
“I want to give a big shoutout to all of our sponsors: the East Chicago Lions Club, Harbor Barbers Infamous, and MySchoolOptions. Today is a time to be together and support each other--this is just such a beautiful community and I’m proud of what we can offer our city,” said Foy.
To learn more about Big Shoulders Fund and the support it provides to local schools, visit https://bigshouldersfund.org/.