Nonprofit Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF) held its first Day of Giving on National Single Parent Day on March 21.
In total, 163 supporters raised $34,090 to support single parent students. Additionally, 11 cities declared March 21 as ASPSF Day of Giving: Cabot, Conway, Fort Smith, Harrison, Helena, Hot Springs, Jasper, Jonesboro, Maumelle, North Little Rock, and Sheridan.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible generosity shown during the inaugural ASPSF Day of Giving,” ASPSF CEO Jenn Morehead said. “Thanks to our supporters, we not only met but surpassed our $25,000 goal. This success is a testament to the power of our community coming together to create brighter futures for families.”
Sponsored by Arvest, ASPSF Day of Giving was a 24-hour statewide event that gathered supporters across Arkansas to lift up single parents who seek to improve their lives and the lives of their families through higher education. Community members could participate by donating online, taking the Single Parent Juggling Challenge, becoming an ASPSF Ambassador, or stopping by The Filling Station in North Little Rock to celebrate single parents with music and food.
“Oftentimes, being a single mother is looked at as a flaw or a handicap — a situation that someone put themselves in,” said Destiny Hall, a spring ASPSF scholarship recipient. “While being a single parent is not always ideal, it creates resilience and strength.”
RECORD-BREAKING SPRING SCHOLARSHIPS
Another way ASPSF celebrated National Single Parent Day — first declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 — was by distributing scholarships to single parents. On March 21, about two dozen spring recipients from Faulkner and nearby counties received their scholarships at a celebration in Conway.
Like nearly all the 10+ ASPSF scholarship ceremonies held across the state, the Conway event included a professional development workshop. Morehead led a presentation about resume writing and interviewing. A key part of the ASPSF program is to pair financial aid with wraparound services like workshops and mentoring so recipients are ready to enter the professional workforce once they graduate.
In total, ASPSF awarded 550 scholarships totaling over $700,000 to low-income single parent students in March for the spring semester. This is the highest number of scholarship awards and scholarship dollars ASPSF has awarded in a single semester since at least 2023.
This increase is all thanks to generous donors, including those who contributed to the ASPSF Day of Giving. Every dollar raised from the March 21 fundraiser will help hardworking single parent families break the cycle of poverty through education.
“Thank you for seeing the potential in myself and the others trying to better themselves and their children,” said Hall, a full-time student at Arkansas State University-Newport. “Thank you for helping my dream of becoming a registered nurse and being a woman my son can be proud of come true.”
For more information, contact ASPSF Chief Communications Officer Jen Lawrence at jlawrence@aspsf.org or 501-550-6304.
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