Chris & Jenny's Wedding

All young people deserve equitable opportunities to learn both during and out of school, regardless of where they live.

Horizons National is a nonprofit that seeks to advance educational equity across the US. Horizons partners with schools, colleges, and universities to provide after-school and summer enrichment programs for students from low-income communities, from pre-K through high school.

Experts recognize that programs like Horizons are critical to helping level the playing field and set students on the path to recovery. Using Horizons' major strengths-- academics, social-emotional learning, family engagement, and building community-- guides the work at 70 Horizons sites across the country, and leverages Horizons National's expertise as out-of-school time providers, especially now to support COVID recovery.

Horizons helped Chris's mom, Amy, when she arrived in the US at 10 years old. As a newly arrived immigrant struggling to make her way through middle school, while both of her parents worked as janitors, Horizons provided academic and social-emotional support, enabling her to catch up-- and keep up-- with her classmates. Amy's assimilation in the US, her educational journey, and the Downer family are all made possible by the path opened up to her by Horizons.

These past several years have been challenging for all students, but it has been made all the more difficult for students in lower-income communities experiencing a widening gap in access to remote learning technology, fewer opportunities to build relationships, and fewer enrichment activities outside of school. Horizons is working hard to help students break down these barriers and provide healthy and positive youth development for those in challenging situations.

We are deeply indebted to Horizons National and wouldn't be here without this wonderful organization. Please help other future heroes like Amy Downer and consider making a donation to Horizons!