MERRILLVILLE — Five Catholic elementary schools in Northwest Indiana will have playground equipment thanks to a team effort.

Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana said a $500,000 gift from the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation, as well as a partnership with Indiana-based Kidstuff Playsystems made the playgrounds possible. It's the first time those schools have had the equipment.

Four of the five playgrounds are complete ahead of the upcoming school year at St. Casimir School in Hammond, St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Whiting, St. John Bosco Catholic School in Hammond, and St. Stanislaus School in East Chicago, with the fifth and final playground at Aquinas Catholic Community School in Merrillville expected to be completed in the fall.

“The Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation is committed to improving the well-being of families in Indiana, and Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana is the perfect partner in pursuing this goal,” said Bill Hanna, executive director of the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation.

The $500,000 commitment from the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation was dedicated to the creation of five playgrounds at Catholic elementary schools in Northwest Indiana that did not have playgrounds.

The schools within the Catholic Diocese of Gary pride themselves on providing a high-quality, values-based education for the whole child, providing social, emotional, spiritual, physical, and culture development in addition to academics to help children grow into well-rounded, productive individuals who go on to better their communities.

“Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana is grateful for the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation as well as Kidstuff Playsystems,” said Dan Kozlowski, managing director of Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana. “Without them, this project wouldn’t have been possible."

The playgrounds were designed, built, and installed by the certified Gary-based playground manufacturer, Kidstuff Playsystems. The manufacturer provided each school with a variety of play system options to allow each school to pick the best play system that meets their unique needs.

“Back to school is always an exciting time for our kids and community,” said Nancy Repay, principal of St. John Bosco Catholic School in Hammond. “This year, there’s a little extra buzz of excitement as the kids are eager to play on the new playground."

About Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana

Inspired by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Big Shoulders Fund was founded by a group of business and civic leaders in 1986, raising more than $450 million to date, to create wider access to a network of schools for low-income students.

For more than 35 years, Big Shoulders Fund has helped Chicago’s children in need achieve their dreams through access to a quality, values-based education. Big Shoulders Fund accomplishes this by investing more than $30 million annually in scholarship support and academic enrichment for students, operational improvements for schools, leadership development programs for the next generation of school leaders, and academic programs and professional development for teachers.