Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) has a clear vision: to make La Porte County one of Indiana’s top 10 healthiest communities by 2030. HFL is working toward this vision by supporting nonprofit organizations in the county with capacity building opportunities. On Friday, January 27 HFL held its first Nonprofit Excellence Symposium--an event that brought more than 40 La Porte County nonprofit leaders together to network and learn.
“HFL’s Nonprofit Excellence Symposium is an opportunity to support and strengthen nonprofit leaders doing tremendous work to support health and wellness in La Porte County as well as bring them together for networking and resource sharing,” said Maria Fruth, president and CEO of HFL.
The day-long event began with an icebreaker activity, led by Symposium Planning Committee member Nate Loucks, that challenged attendees to engage with the leaders at their table. Attendees shook hands, laughed, and worked as a team to create colorful representations of their organizations’ combined missions. Each poster was then displayed in the room for the duration of the event, and attendees voted on their favorite poster during lunch.
“It is our hope that throughout the Symposium people begin to make connections with those they don’t know and that it leads them to a world of things such as further collaboration with different organizations or building future ties with HFL. In the end, it’s all about the people in our community and I think this event will help us move our community forward,” said Tricia Luck, one of HFL’s board members.
The inaugural Nonprofit Excellence Symposium, Leaders Learn, came about to support and connect local nonprofit leaders with needed resources and tools to better serve the residents of La Porte County. Organizations in attendance represented food access, mental health, youth advocacy, housing, and more. The theme for the day, Leaders Learn, was inspired by a quote by writer Israelmore Ayivor: “Just as the bird needs wings to fly, the leader needs useful information to flow. Leaders learn.”
Leaders Learn: Emotional Intelligence, Cybersecurity & Insurance, Grants, and More
The rest of the day featured all kinds of activities, group discussions, and speakers that encouraged connection and the strengthening of leadership. Philip Chard, psychotherapist and columnist of “Out of My Mind,” gave a moving presentation about emotional intelligence that opened everyone’s eyes to how they can become stronger, more emotionally intelligent leaders by practicing self-care techniques and recognizing the value of empathy.
“We don’t tend to remember a lot of basic information when we are interacting with people, but we do remember how they make us feel. How people make us feel is what drives our relationships both in the workplace and personally, and it has a tremendous impact on our capacity to influence other people and be effective in our organization,” said Chard.
Other speakers included Maria Fruth, HFL President & CEO, who introduced the County Health Rankings and talked about social determinants of health with a session titled Health is More Than Healthcare; Jessica Mace, HFL Senior Program Officer, who shared tips for creating dashboards, custom reports, and finding data on TEN2030.org; Mary Komenas, Purdue Extension Educator, who spoke on state and federal grants; Grant Andres, Cardinal Point Technologies President, with a session on cybersecurity for nonprofits; Kathy Henrich, General Insurance Services Vice President, who offered tips for protecting nonprofits with insurance; Desila Rosetti, Organizational Development Solutions President, with an informative session on employee file organization; and Trudy Menke, Reframing Leadership President, who ended the day with an engaging presentation on Patrick Lencioni’s The 6 Types of Working Genius.
The symposium was held in HFL’s 13,000-square-foot Conference and Learning Center (C&LC). The flexible space, which can hold up to 223 occupants, can be used free of charge by local nonprofit organizations and government entities, and for health and wellness related activities. HFL’s C&LC is a hub for nonprofit and community members to collaborate. Learn more about the C&LC, including eligibility, capacity, and how to make reservations, at https://www.hflaporte.org/hfl-conference-learning-center.
Symposium Encourages Leaders to Fly
Attendees left inspired and equipped with new tools and connections to continue providing much-needed services throughout the county.
“This is all just so meaningful. The fact that so many people were willing to come out and participate shows so much love for the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte. It shows how interested our nonprofit leaders are in building their organizations and how much they want to grow their presence in order to provide for the folks in our community,” said Luck.
An event of this size would not have been possible without the hard work and support of the incredible planning committee, comprised of nonprofit leaders Steve Bernth, Youth Service Bureau Executive Director; Jackie Dermody, Family Advocates CEO; Nate Loucks, PAX Center President; Trudy Menke; Michelle Shirk, Boys & Girls Clubs of La Porte County CEO; Deb Varnak, Stepping Stone Shelter for Women Interim Director; and Shannon Walker, Unity Foundation Vice President.
“I want to thank our wonderful committee and our speakers, for lending their time and expertise. My sincere appreciation to our HFL team, Erica Kanney, Jessica Mace, Mary Wellnitz, Elizabeth Schlundt, and Lisa Heddens, for their detailed and hard work on this inaugural symposium. And of course, to our board members for their support of events such as this one. It has been a great opportunity for all these different organizations to get to know each other and learn together,” said Fruth.
Since 2017, HFL has invested over $36 million in the La Porte County community. To learn more about the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte and its mission to empower La Porte County residents to live healthy and well, visit https://www.hflaporte.org/.
