Couple donates $10 million to keep Head Start open during government shutdown

Former hedge fund manager John Arnold, 39 and his wife Laura, have pledged $10 million of their personal fortune to keep Head Start open during the government shutdown. According to Forbes, Arnold is worth $2.8 billion.

According to Sally Aman, a Head Start spokesperson, the altruistic couple provided the money needed to reopen the seven Head Start programs in six states that were expecting to receive their federally allotted grants on Oct. 1 but were forced to close when the government closed many of their own offices.

Head Start serves “the poorest of the poor in our country from ages 0-5 to get them ready for kindergarten.”

“The Arnolds … have selflessly stepped up for Head Start children to ensure their path toward kindergarten readiness is not interrupted by the inability of government to get the nation’s fiscal house in order,” said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association, in a Head Start press release.

“We believe that it is especially unfair that young children from underprivileged communities and working families pay the price for the legislature’s collective failures,” the Arnolds said in a statement.