Horizons for Homeless Children Raises Record $1.3 Million at Annual Breakfast as CEO Kate Barrand Prepares to Retire
Horizons for Homeless Children announced in Boston on October 29 that its 28th annual Horizons Breakfast, held earlier this week at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, drew approximately 1,000 business leaders, community members and supporters and raised a record-breaking $1.3 million for children and families experiencing homelessness across Massachusetts.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Brian Goldstone, whose book There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America examines working homelessness, delivered the keynote, describing the rise of families who work full-time yet still cannot secure stable housing. The organization notes that more than 33,000 children are currently reported homeless across Massachusetts school systems.
Funds raised will support Horizons' early education program, which serves 265 children every weekday, as well as Playspaces in shelters statewide, family support services and advocacy. Through its two-generation model, Horizons pairs high-quality early education for children with support that helps parents pursue work and stability.
The morning also honored President and CEO Kate Barrand, who is retiring in February 2027 after a decade leading Horizons. Barrand said leading the organization for the past eleven years had been the privilege of her life. Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll also addressed guests, saying Barrand had made sure that children experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts are seen, supported and given every chance to thrive.
Parent speaker Carina Lopez credited Horizons with her family's journey from homelessness to business ownership, saying that every hour her children were safe at Horizons was an hour she could spend rebuilding their future — taking classes, applying for jobs, going to interviews and navigating housing — while her children reached milestones of their own.
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Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Massachusetts 州 Boston 的 Copley Square，本届年度早餐会在广场旁的 Boston Marriott Copley Place 举行。照片：Gregg Squeglia 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Copley Square in Boston, Massachusetts, beside the Boston Marriott Copley Place, where the annual breakfast was held. Photo: Gregg Squeglia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
