IMPACT STORIES: Celebrating 35 Years of Single Parent Success

Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund began in 1990 with a vision to reach families in every corner of the state. The reflections below offer a glimpse into that 35-year journey and the lives it’s touched along the way. Submit your Impact Story here.

I’m a single parent and also a former recipient of the scholarship, so this organization is very close to my heart. I actually found out about ASPSF back in 2019 or 2020 when I was in college-I just happened to Google scholarships for single parents, and that’s how my journey began.

I decided to start volunteering because I love helping others, and I wanted to give back to the program that once helped me. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to participate in several events-the Fashion Show fundraiser, the formal luncheon in Little Rock, and even hosting the graduation ceremony. This year, I also got to help with New Student Interviews.

Out of all those experiences, my favorite has to be the graduation ceremony. I’ll never forget the time Tikima, Lettice, and I hosted one ourselves-we were the guest speakers and the hosts! We had such a great time planning, organizing, and celebrating everyone’s accomplishments.

Giving my time to ASPSF means a lot to me because I know firsthand what it’s like to be a single parent balancing school, work, and raising a child. It’s rewarding to support others who are walking that same path and remind them that their hard work truly pays off.

I’m a teacher, and my husband’s a teacher. We firmly believe in education. While I’m not a parent, I always had 30 kids every year. We set up our own scholarship to help others go back to school.

I began voluntarily supporting single parents many years ago when I chaired our local committee, and I continue (volunteering) to offer supportive assistance to single parents aspiring to reach goals pursuant to the “Mission of the Organization” in Ending Single Parent poverty, by helping them reach their goals while breaking down barriers between them and their obtaining higher education. It also serves as My Personal way of paying it forward because I’ve experienced firsthand being in the single parent position, knowing the struggles and hardships of being a single parent and needing certain supportive resources to be able to achieve and reach those goals.

I want to be just like my mother, which is a therapist. She really inspires me. I really like helping, too.

I went back to college after being out for 16 years. In my mind, I wasn’t satisfied until I had finished the degree I started. I had no idea there were scholarships for single moms but when I was awarded one through ASPSF, it made the financial burden easier. Quitting my full-time job wasn’t an option since it was all I had to support myself and my two kids. So any financial help I could get toward my studies was a blessing. It took me about 18 months to finish through an online program with UAFS. Without this option, I would never have been able to finish my degree. After finishing, I have moved into a management position, and am able to help support my family with more ease. My kids are grown now, but they see the importance of dedication and how hard work creates success.

This scholarship was definitely needed for me to pay for school expenses. ASPSF has impacted my family by helping lift a financial burden and helping with savings on tuition, and getting through my final year of undergraduate studies. I’m now teaching social studies to seventh graders.

One moment that has stayed with me is sitting in on scholarship interviews and hearing firsthand the stories of single parents who are doing everything they can to build a better future for their families. I remember one student in particular who shared how she was balancing school, work, and parenting, often sacrificing her own needs just to ensure her children had what they needed. She spoke about how receiving the scholarship would relieve some of that financial pressure by allowing her to focus more on her education and spend quality time with her children instead of constantly worrying about making ends meet. What stood out the most to me was not just her challenges, but her determination. She simply wanted an opportunity.

What inspires me the most about supporting ASPSF is seeing the real, tangible impact it has on the lives of our students. In Career, Pathways, we work closely with individuals who are striving to overcome barriers, and many of them are single parents who are trying to rewrite their story while raising children at the same time. This scholarship provides more than financial assistance; it provides hope, stability, and encouragement. This work matters to me personally because I see how transformative education can be, especially when students are given the support they need to succeed. When a single parent is able to stay in school, graduate, and secure a better career, it changes the trajectory of their entire family. Their children see that perseverance and success are possible, and that creates a lasting generational impact. Being able to play a small role in that journey is incredibly meaningful to me.

The Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund carried me through one of the hardest seasons of my life. As a newly divorced mom, I worked three jobs while taking 18–21 credit hours each semester, serving as a student ambassador with over 900 hours of community service, raising two daughters, now both college graduates, and caring for my chronically ill mother. There were days I didn’t know how I would make it. This scholarship lifted a financial burden, but more than that, it gave me hope and the strength to keep going when I felt overwhelmed. It allowed me to focus on my education, be present for my family, and model resilience and perseverance for my girls. Because of this support, I didn’t just survive: I succeeded. It changed the trajectory of my life, helping me find my dream job, supporting my daughters, and beginning the life I always hoped to live.

Thanks to your support, I was able to gradate from college, focus on my studies, and pursue my dream of becoming a librarian. This scholarship made a huge difference in my life and the lives of my children. Your generosity doesn’t just help students financially. It gives us confidence, opportunity, and a future. I give back because any little bit you can give is a blessing to a single parent. Some people think, ‘I don’t have the money,’ but any amount makes a difference.

A moment that has stayed with me is receiving a volunteer certificate, a gift, and a story that carried a powerful message. It told of a boy tossing starfish back into the ocean, one by one. When told he couldn’t possibly save them all, he replied, “I made a difference to that one.” That message has never left me. It reminds me that while I can’t reach everyone, every person I do reach matters deeply. This is the heart of ASPSF’s mission and the spirit that drives me as a volunteer. Each interaction is a chance to uplift, encourage, and change a life. That story sits in my office as a daily reminder that impact isn’t measured in numbers, but in moments—and even changing one life makes it all worthwhile. It challenges me to show up each day with purpose, knowing even the smallest act can leave a lasting impact.

What inspires me to support ASPSF is the opportunity to be part of something that truly changes lives. I’m inspired by the idea that one act of support—one scholarship, one conversation, one moment of encouragement—can open doors and create possibilities that may not have existed before. This work matters to me personally because I’ve seen how far belief and support can go in shaping someone’s future. ASPSF is not just about financial assistance; it’s about investing in people, their dreams, and their potential. Being able to play even a small role in that process is incredibly meaningful. It reminds me that impact doesn’t have to be massive to be powerful—sometimes it’s simply about showing up, caring, and making a difference one person at a time.

I became involved with SPSF while working at UALR as a financial aid administrator, when Director Ellen Ingram invited me to volunteer. After learning about the mission and volunteering, I quickly saw its life-changing impact. A few years later, I had the honor of serving as SPSF’s second executive director. We offered 40–50 scholarships annually. These scholarships extended beyond tuition, helping cover essentials like rent, utilities, childcare, car repairs, insurance; any need that traditional financial aid did meet.

SPSF recipients were determined to build better futures, and today many are working as nurses, accountants, dentists, teachers, and health care professionals across Arkansas and beyond. Their success reflect their perseverance and the generosity of a community willing to help others succeed. Lives have been transformed, families strengthened, and cycles of poverty broken. It’s a powerful reminder of what’s possible when people come together to support those striving to improve their lives.

My favorite impact story is from early in my service when a fellow board member was in the hospital with breast cancer. Our executive director at the time gave her a small pair of pink boxing gloves that the board members had signed. She had it on her hospital bed table, and her nurse asked her about the gloves. She replied that they were from our Pulaski County SPSF board. The nurse, with an amazed look on her face, noted that she had been able to become a nurse in part because of our scholarship. What a beautiful affirmation of the difference we can each make in the life of others.

Watching my mom succeed in something she wanted for so long makes me smile because I know all the hard work she put into this. From the long stressful nights to waking up early to study for a test, she sets a great example and shows us every day that anything CAN be achieved, no matter what.

As I watch her set high goals and reach them every time and get closer and closer to the career she’s been striving for, it makes me feel inspired, and I know that through hard work I can accomplish anything.

I am not an alumni of the program; however, I was a single mom who raised my son alone and I did go back and get a college degree at night while working for the school district when I was in my early fifties so I understand what the single parents lives are like.

There is a young lady, Bailey Birge, that I first helped in my Family & Community Engagement Coordinator role for our school district a few years ago. I suggested that Bailey apply for the ASPSF one year when she wanted to better her life and return to school. Bailey had a special needs child so I really admired her determination to return to school and get her degree. She applied for the scholarship and received it. She continued with her education and receiving the scholarship each semester, and in our recent awards ceremony she is getting the scholarship for her last semester before obtaining her degree this summer. She attended the award ceremony with a newborn too, yet she is completing her degree! I am so proud of her! With help and encouragement these single parents can obtain college degrees and become more successful in life.

I support this program first of all because in my job we have single parents at the high school level that I work with, but it matters personally to me because I was a single mom who raised my son alone and obtained a college degree at night while working 50-60 hours a week when I was in my fifties. I know the struggles that single parents face and sometimes there is a negative attitude about single parents. I was determined to be the very best single parent I could be so that no one ever said anything negative. I love supporting these single parents and seeing them achieve their dreams!

I want to do whatever I can to help these moms and dads be able to make a better life for their family. It’s so much harder trying to go back to school as an adult learner. The more supports that are in place, the more likely you are to be successful. ASPSF supporters aren’t just making a difference in one person’s lives but changing an entire family’s lives and their trajectory for the future.

While I was blessed to not have to worry about having household expenses paid when I went back to college, I do know how hard it is to go to college and have small children. I love that SPSF helps with supplement funds for those expenses that could derail a person’s ability to better her life as well as those of her children!

My teenager, before I joined college, just wanted to get her GED and get out of school as fast as she can. Now she’s achieved more, done more. She’s like ‘I want to go to college. I want to do the same thing you’re doing.’ It’s given me that prideful moment where I’m able to show my kids what great looks like. I’m able to do more for them now than I ever could before.

When I graduated high school in 1996, I knew I was going to college. I had family support, and I was a top student. What the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund gave me was the affirmation that someone beyond my own circle believed in me, too.

That confidence carried me further than I could have imagined. From a BS in Health Science to a Master’s in Sports Management, and ultimately a PhD in Public Health — each degree was built on the foundation this scholarship laid.

Today, I’ve come full circle. I serve as CEO of a Federally Qualified Health Center here in Lee County — bringing healthcare access to the very community that first believed in me. I hope my journey serves as proof to others here that it is possible. The ripple effect of investing in one single parent is immeasurable.

Watching my mom Carrie Terry go back to school was truly inspiring. I was in high school so I was old enough to see the amount of work that went into what she was doing. Not only was she working full time, but she was a student and somehow made time for her kids.

I think what stands out to me looking back is the example she set for us, especially as I went through college myself. She showed me that no matter where you are at in your life and the obstacles you have faced, that you can do anything you set your mind to.

When Pulaski reorganized in 1997 we were tearful as we awarded $8,000. If we knew then that $374,900 would be awarded in Pulaski in 2025, we would have pinched ourselves in disbelief.

I will always remember an interview I had with one of ASPSF/Pulaski’s first recipients. She sat nervously at the table while holding her sleeping infant.

I asked her what pushed her to take on the arduous role of a student in higher education with an infant, with part-time employment, with all the necessary chores and worries that fell on her as a single parent.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes, gestured to her child and responded simply,” I don’t want my baby to live her life the way I’ve lived mine.”

I am always excited when I see any of our scholarship recipients graduate. I feel that I, being a donor and board member of this scholarship organization, have made a positive difference in that person’s life. I became a donor because my Dad and grandfather had to help single parent siblings through difficult times.

My father’s purpose was public service—building community by lifting people on the socioeconomic margins. He met my mom while working as a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) caseworker in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. He later served as president of my elementary school’s PTA and helped build relationships and raise funds for the NWA free health clinic, improvements to his neighborhood park, and the construction of a new synagogue (Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas).

As Director of Fayetteville’s EOA (Economic Opportunity Agency), his insight was visionary. He recognized the highest‑potential clients were single-parent heads of household already leading by keeping their children housed, fed, clothed, and in school while working low‑income jobs. He believed that with encouragement, guidance, and financial support, their possibilities were boundless.

That belief led him to found SPSF, grounded in the inherent strength of single parents—their sacrifice, leadership, grit, and resilience. His vision realized was to help break the cycle of poverty by giving parents the chance to build toward a better life for their families.

Since graduating, I’ve become more financially stable. I give back to ASPSF because they poured into me effortlessly, whether it was mentoring or finding workshops that would help me. Going to college also benefited my son because I used to drag him around campus. He’s considering going to school to major in music education.

My daughter received the scholarship and invited her mom and me to the ceremony. I was just moved by the number of different stories there and how grateful they all were for the monies. My daughter used her scholarship for a school laptop. Now, she’s a speech therapist.

As a product of a single teenage parent, I have a duty to be an advocate for those this program serves. I am a firm believer that when people face challenges, leaders should offer solutions and resources. Joining the ASPSF board affords me with that opportunity; and provides a sense of fulfillment, knowing that every decision and every scholarship awarded impacts not only the recipient but generations of people connected to that recipient.

Dr. Nancy Haller asked me to join the Newton County Board because I loved teaching and wanted to inspire students to become teachers. Once a year, we’d take the girls and their kids to breakfast at Ozark Cafe. One mom that we helped was Keisha Manen. She wanted to be a beautician. She got through her training, and we helped her get a place for her beauty parlor. I still go to her today for my hair!

This scholarship gave me the opportunity to dream. Because when you have people that invest in not only your education but also you personally and remind you of what you’re capable of — even if you’re a young mother or a young father that’s just trying to get it done — it put something in me that made me realize that I could do anything. Everything was available to me if I continued to educate myself, which is what I did.