CoAction works to build hope, strengthen Northwest Indiana communities during annual Reimagine Conference

CoAction sparked a wave of hope through the Northwest Indiana community during its annual Reimagine conference at Valparaiso University on Friday, October 10. Centered around the theme “Hope in Action: Mobilizing Communities to Respond and Build Collective Strength,” the event inspired local experts, educators, service providers, and advocates to turn awareness into action in their everyday lives and respective professions.

“CoAction has a vision that people are going to thrive in our community, regardless of income, ability or age,” said CoAction President and CEO Jennifer Trowbridge. “In order for that to happen, it takes a multitude of community members responding to each other in a different way. This conference teaches you tangible skills to understand the public, your employees and everybody we interface even more with so that we can think about how people show up and engage with others. Then we can respond in a way that helps us be more effective.”

The Reimagine Conference featured many inspiring speeches from leaders and professionals throughout the country, beginning with Keynote Speaker Dr. Angela Harris, associate professor at the Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at the University of Oklahoma. Following Harris’ presentation, attendees broke off into various breakout sessions throughout the afternoon, each highlighting a different aspect – ranging from leadership tactics to tools to how to conquer trauma and adversities to psychological perspectives – of how to create authentic change throughout their communities.

​CoAction has hosted the Reimagine Conference for half a decade now, CoAction puts its heart and soul into building the lineup each year. When selecting the theme, speakers, and topics of discussion, CoAction takes a thorough look at the needs of the communities it serves and how to best achieve those goals during the conference.

“We’re already thinking about what’s ahead, what kind of speakers we want to have, where they are coming from, and what kind of tools we think our community needs,” Trowbridge said. “We start with organically putting the pieces together, identifying community gaps, looking at what the people we serve could use to enhance their goals, and how we make sure that people in the community know what we do. It involves a lot of preparation and planning that really goes into who’s going to be here and how to attract the right people in our community to come.”

Valparaiso University has additionally provided the perfect space to help facilitate these important discussions.

“We’ve been at Valparaiso University for several years,” Trowbridge said. “It’s been a wonderful venue for us. They’re easy to work with. It’s affordable to hold conferences here, which is great for the organization that we are, and it’s been a great location for the seven counties we serve that’s right in the heart of Porter County.”

Through both the presentations and networking with other professionals throughout Northwest Indiana, the conference helped to equip over 250 attendees with the tools they would need to best help and empower others who need it the most.

“Whether you’re working at a bank and have to respond to somebody who comes in with a need, or if you’re a deep diver into social work and you have somebody with several compounding problems, we want to help others to help them through that,” Trowbridge said. “We want attendees to be inspired to take the first step to a more self-sustaining space. This conference gives you these tools, and it brings all of those various peoples together.”

With another successful Reimagine Conference under its belt, CoAction hopes attendees are inspired to apply the insights gained to both their professional and personal lives. Attendees left not only with valuable knowledge but also with a renewed sense of purpose, ready to make a positive impact on the lives around them.

“This conference serves people in two deep ways,” Trowbridge said. “I think people gain insights into themselves and what they can do to respond differently to others to try to get to the result that they might intend, and people will do this in a professional and a personal space. When everyone is listening to the keynote speaker and attending a breakout session with these experts, they are gaining tangible, actionable ways that they can carry on whatever that might be for them. Everybody thinks about who in their life this could personally impact and who they’re professionally interacting with.”

Visit coaction.care to learn more about how CoAction is making valuable changes across Northwest Indiana.