When the school day ends, opportunity shouldn’t.
There are 24 hours in a day. Sometimes, just three of them can make an enormous difference.
Between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m., many young people are transitioning from the structure of the school day into the rest of
their evening. For some, those hours include sports, clubs, tutoring or family activities. For others, there may be few
structured opportunities available.
Neighborhood Life sees those three hours differently.
We see possibility.
Four to Seven is our vision for turning the after-school hours into time for young people to learn, create, connect,
discover their abilities and begin imagining what their future could become.
Young people deserve more than a room where they can simply pass the time.
They need places where somebody knows their name. Where questions are welcomed. Where mistakes can become
lessons. Where adults listen instead of always lecturing. And where young people can discover interests and abilities
they may not even know they have.
That is what Four to Seven is designed to encourage.
The goal isn’t to fill every minute with another class. Young people already spend much of their day being told where
to sit, what to study and when to move.
Four to Seven should feel different. It should be a place to explore.
Imagine a teenager walking in after school and having choices.
Maybe today they need help understanding a math assignment. Tomorrow they might learn how to create a podcast,
edit a video or use new technology. Another afternoon could introduce them to an entrepreneur who started a
business from an idea.
They could learn how money and credit work, practice for their first job interview, prepare a healthy meal, create
music, participate in sports or simply have an important conversation with a trusted mentor.
These experiences may seem unrelated. They’re not. Each one helps a young person answer an important question:
What am I capable of?
Mentors, parents, grandparents, educators, pastors, coaches and community leaders have knowledge worth sharing.
But Four to Seven isn’t about adults designing everything and then telling young people what they need. Young
people need a seat at the table.
We want to hear what they are interested in, what they’re worried about, what they want to learn and what
opportunities they wish existed in their neighborhood.
Listening doesn’t mean adults stop providing guidance. It means we combine experience with perspective. That’s
how stronger relationships are built.
Academic success matters. But adulthood requires skills that don’t always fit neatly into a textbook.
How do you open a bank account? How do you prepare for an interview? What does good credit mean? How do you
turn an idea into a business? How do you communicate when you’re angry? How do you choose people who
positively influence your life? How do you recover when something doesn’t go according to plan?
Young people shouldn’t have to learn every important lesson the hard way. Four to Seven can help connect
traditional learning with real life.
A program like this cannot belong only to Neighborhood Life.
Our community contains teachers, retired professionals, tradespeople, artists, musicians, business owners,
technology professionals, cooks, coaches, college students, entrepreneurs, parents, grandparents and people with
decades of life experience.
Imagine what could happen if more of that knowledge reached the next generation.
A person doesn’t have to be famous or wealthy to become an important influence in a young person’s life. Sometimes
what a young person needs is simply an adult who consistently says: I see something in you. Let’s develop it.
Four to Seven isn’t based on the idea that every young person will follow the same path. Quite the opposite.
One may discover technology. Another may discover music. Someone else may discover entrepreneurship, sports,
skilled trades, college, leadership – or a talent none of us expected.
Our responsibility isn’t to choose their future for them. It’s to help make sure they have enough exposure, guidance
and opportunity to discover it for themselves.
Because when the school day ends, their potential doesn’t.
Are you a young person, parent, mentor, educator, business owner or community member who wants
to be part of Four to Seven?
Neighborhood Life wants to hear from you.
LEARN MORE • SHARE AN IDEA • BECOME A MENTOR • GET INVOLVED