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FLORECER serves youth and families throughout Yuma County, Arizona, and Imperial County, California, two neighboring rural communities located along the U.S.-Mexico border. Together, these counties are home to vibrant Latino, Indigenous, immigrant, and agricultural communities whose rich cultures, histories, and traditions are foundational to the region.

Despite these strengths, many communities across the rural southern border continue to experience longstanding inequities in educational opportunity, economic mobility, healthcare access, transportation, and affordable housing. Portions of both counties have been identified as disadvantaged communities by federal and state agencies due to persistent social, economic, and environmental challenges. Yuma County is also home to numerous colonias, rural border communities that historically have lacked adequate infrastructure and public investment, as well as the sovereign lands of the Cocopah Indian Tribe and the Quechan Indian Tribe.

Many of the young people FLORECER serves are the first in their families to pursue higher education. They are often the children of farmworkers, immigrant families, military families, and Indigenous communities whose resilience and determination have sustained the region for generations. Yet these students frequently face systemic barriers to college access, including limited college advising, financial constraints, geographic isolation, and underrepresentation in higher education.

At FLORECER, we believe these young people are not defined by the barriers they encounter, but by the potential they possess. Through culturally responsive college access programming, leadership development, and community partnerships, we equip youth with the knowledge, confidence, and opportunities to pursue higher education, strengthen their communities, and become the next generation of leaders. We are committed to ensuring that rural border students are not only included in conversations about the future, they are empowered to help shape it.