NonProfit Arkansa’s Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPF) held its first day giving at National Single Parent Day on March 21.
In total, 163 followers raised $ 34,090 to support students in single parents. In addition, 11 cities declared March 21 as ASPF Day of Giving: Cabot, Conway, Fort Smith, Harrison, Helena, Hot Springs, Jasper, Jonesboro, Maumelle, North Little Rock and Sheridan.
“We are overwhelmed by gratitude for the incredible generosity that was shown during the initial ASPSF day of giving,” said ASPSF managing director Jenn Morehead. “Thanks to our supporters, we not only met, but exceeded our $ 25,000 goals. This success is a testimony that the power of our society is gathering to create a brighter future for families.”
Sponsored by the heir was ASPF Day of Giving a 24-hour Statewide event that assembled supporters all over Arkansas to lift single parents who seek to improve their lives and their families’ lives through higher education. Community members could participate by donating online, taking the single parent juggling challenge, becoming an ASPF ambassador or stopping at the North Little Rock filling station to celebrate single parents with music and food.
“Often it is seen to be a single mother as a mistake or a disability – a situation that someone put themselves in,” said Destiny Hall, a spring ASPF scholarship recipient. “While it is not always ideal to be a single parent, it creates resilience and strength.”
Record-Breaking Spring Scholarships
Another way aspf celebrated National Single Parent Day – first declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 – was distributing scholarships to single parents. On March 21, about two dozen spring recipients received from Faulkner and nearby counties their scholarships at a party in Conway.
Like almost all the 10+ ASPSF scholarships held throughout the state, the Conway event included a professional development workshop. Morehead led a presentation on CV writing and interview. An important part of the ASPSF program is to pair financial support with wrapped services such as workshops and mentoring, so recipients are ready to enter the professional workforce when they are educated.
In total, ASPF awarded 550 scholarships totaling over $ 700,000 to students with a single income in March in March to the spring semester. This is the highest number of scholarship prices and scholarships Dollars ASPSF has awarded in a single semester since at least 2023.
This increase is all thanks to generous donors, including those who have contributed to ASPSF Day to give. Every dollar raised from March 21 Fundraiser helps hard -working single parent families to break the poverty cycle through education.
“Thank you for seeing the potential of myself and the others trying to improve themselves and their children,” said Hall, a full-time student at Arkansa’s State University-Newport. “Thank you for helping my dream of becoming a registered nurse and being a woman my son can be proud to come true.”
For more information, contact ASPSF Chief Communications Officer Jen Lawrence at jlawrence@aspsf.org or 501-550-6304.