ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) will award the 2024 Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Award to Kimberly Osborn, the program director of the Northside Child Development Center (Northside) at Catholic Charities Twin Cities. This honor is presented annually to a Catholic Charities staff member who distinguishes himself or herself through a commitment to serve youth and families in need.
Osborn started 30 years ago as a classroom teacher at Northside, which provides affordable childcare to 129 children (ages 6 weeks through 12 years) in North Minneapolis. For the past 17 years, she has led the center as its director and grown it into a cornerstone of the neighborhood. Northside serves as a refuge for children and their families who often face difficult challenges, and Osborn has built a team and a program that is regularly recognized for its excellence.
“Kimberly Osborn has forged a legacy that all of us should admire and seek to emulate,” CCUSA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson said. “With passion, care and humility, she has tangibly and profoundly changed the lives of thousands of children and their families over the course of her career. Her work is a tremendous blessing to her community and to the entire Catholic Charities network.”
Osborn’s colleagues and team members praise her for how consistently she leads by example. Like most childcare centers, Northside often deals with staff shortages. While also overseeing the center’s big-picture and long-term projects and challenges, Osborn routinely helps in whatever ways she is needed most, from teaching in a classroom to cleaning the bathrooms. Osborn skillfully guided Northside through particularly challenging times in 2020, when the COVID pandemic and the murder of George Floyd put enormous strain on the North Minneapolis community and the families served at Northside. For her decades of inspiring, servant leadership, the CCUSA Youth and Family Services Community of Practice, which selects the Bishop Sullivan award winner annually, voted enthusiastically to recognize Osborn.
“I am honored and grateful to receive the 2024 Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Award. Having a safe, reliable space where children can grow in their community is so important, and I hope this award will help shine a spotlight on the incredible community we’ve built at our Northside Child Development Center,” Osborn said. “Each day, I am humbled by the Northside families who entrust their children to us and am inspired by the dedication of our team — all of whom are deeply committed to helping our little learners reach their full potential. Together, we are building brighter futures.”
CCUSA will present Osborn with the Bishop Sullivan award at its Annual Gathering this fall.
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