In December 2023, we presented an idea to the Hillsboro community on Facebook: “What if we brought back the old Hillsboro High School in VR (Virtual Reality)?

The response was an overwhelming “Yes, we love to see this!” Within a day, our FB group for the project amassed 500 members. Within a week, community members shared hundreds of photos, videos, memorabilia, and memories from the school, as well as fascinating details about its design, construction, and history. And within a month, after meeting with VR firms across the world, we had secured a VR partner in McCarty Associates, a local architectural and design firm based in Hillsboro.

3 months later, we launched an IndieGogo community fundraising campaign that ultimately raised the $5,000 needed to begin the project. The dedicated team at McCarty Associates then went to work, digitally re-building the school, applying 3D textures, and preparing it for the virtual reality space.

In March 2024, Ever Forward - named after a metal plaque that stood outside the old high school - became a designated 501(c)3 non-profit organization and committed itself to the mission of using digital technology to strengthen local communities through storytelling, preservation, reconstruction, and education. In revisiting and reviving the past, we seek to stir memories, heal wounds, bring closure, and use the ambitions and lessons of past as springboard to new opportunities for the future.

Our Mission and Vision.

Our Board of Directors.