When David and Jacki Horwitz read an article in The Times about Lorelei Oliver's struggle to find a good school for her son Kamal Key, their response was immediate: Perhaps, they inquired, there was a fund to which they could contribute to help the 12-year-old, who had been admitted to a prestigious but costly private campus?
Three weeks and several phone calls and e-mails later, Kamal and his family sat in the backyard of the Horwitzes' spacious Pacific Palisades home, laughing as if they had known each other for years. The couple's initial offer of a modest donation for a little boy who was a complete stranger has led to the unexpected meeting of two families whose lives may now be intertwined for years.
The Horwitzes have now decided to pay the full cost of Kamal's education for two years, seventh and eighth grade, at the Brentwood School, a private campus a short distance from their home off Sunset Boulevard. The annual tuition is $28,500.
After that, Brentwood, which like other private schools has seen requests for financial aid soar during the economic downturn, will provide Kamal a full scholarship for ninth through 12th grade, school officials said.
All involved seem pleased, and a little surprised, at how quickly the solution fell into place.
"It's a small group of human beings coming together, a bunch of people all caring about each other," said Jacki Horwitz, 65, a professor of communications at Santa Monica College. "It's so cool to be a part of it."
Oliver, a business services representative for AT&T, said she feels as if it's all a dream. The article sparked dozens of offers of help, and Oliver said she has been touched by all of the responses.
"I feel like it's Christmas," she said, snapping pictures on the Horwitzes' back patio on a warm June evening. It was the first time the families had met. Any awkwardness was quickly dispelled.
"Look at your new backyard, Kamal, there's even room to toss a football," Oliver said playfully. "We're going to be family, you're stuck with us now," Jacki announced. "No, you're stuck with us," replied Oliver, to laughs from the group, which included Kamal's grandmother Loretta Oliver, 62, visiting from Texas.
There's no playbook for situations like theirs, they acknowledged. The Horwitzes live close enough to the school that they can meet Kamal there regularly and attend his football games. They've exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses and are planning dinner with his family.
