Harwood Institute in Arkansas Online about work with Wal-Mart
Children's needs will be focus of meeting in Bentonville
By Dave Perozek
January 28, 2015
BENTONVILLE -- School District leaders and others will gather Thursday to discuss how to improve the community for children.
The meeting will include School Board members along with representatives from the business and faith communities. Rich Harwood, founder and president of The Harwood Institute, will lead the discussion.
Harwood has met with various people in the community already, said Michael Poore, School District superintendent.
"He landed on the fact there's a commonality among them, and that's helping kids," Poore said.
Poore and Sharon Orlopp, Wal-Mart's chief diversity officer, introduced the concept to the School Board in October. Wal-Mart is taking care of all related expenses, including bringing in Harwood, Poore said.
Orlopp will be part of Thursday's meeting. She wasn't available for comment Tuesday, according to a Wal-Mart spokesman.
The meeting will start at 5 p.m. at the School District's Administration Building. The public is welcome to attend, but there will be plenty of ways for the public to get involved later on, Poore said.
"This is very much at the ground level," he said.
Harwood and his organization are known for developing "public innovators" and spurring groups to address local challenges. Among his accomplishments is leading the community discussion in Newtown, Conn., over what to do with Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a man shot and killed 20 children and six adults in 2012.
