Single parents find hope and a future with program
Posted on Wednesday, October 29, 2008
For single parents in Benton County who want to improve their lot, to secure that education and the
It is called the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Benton County, an organization designed to help those men and women raising their children alone become more self-sufficient and raise their standard of living.
The program was established in 1984 by Marjorie Marugg-Wolfe and Ralph Nesson.
Marugg-Wolfe, a career counselor, saw many single parents struggling to find jobs, according to information provided by Executive Director Ladonna Penner. Without skills, they faced bleak futures. And unless the cycle could be broken, their children were likely to follow in their footsteps.
The founders realized that obtaining an education wasn’t the only barrier these parents would encounter. Along the way, they still had to pay their mortgages or rent, utilities, car payments, medical bills, transportation costs back and forth to work and much more. Those day-to-day issues had to be dealt with if the parents were to be successful.
So, where there was a need, Marugg-Wolfe, Nesson and others affiliated with the program found the money.
In the beginning, it was a meager $ 150 scholarship per student. Today, those attending classes might be receiving thousands of dollars per se- mester, depending on their personal situations, grade level and grade-point average.
Because the students, mostly women, already qualify for federal aid to pay for their tuition and books, all the money raised by the SPSF goes to other living expenses.
Money is raised in a number of ways, including individual donations, churches, civic clubs, grants, corporate and small business partners and the United Way.
There also is an endowment program where people can will their money or estate and specify where they want it to go and what minimum requirements, such as GPA, must be met. Currently, there are four of these, in the names of Constance Campbell, William and Elizabeth Melching, Neil and Clara Spain and Martha Rose.
Penner said the SPSF isn’t advertised in the generallyaccepted methods, but many people know about it all the same. Pamphlets and brochures are available at all of the local high schools and on college campuses, the local office of the Department of Human Services, area women’s shelters and other facilities where single parents might be found. Many of the program’s students come via
As for those using the program, Penner said they are generally 29-30 years old, have one to two children and are divorced. Some have college credits and others do not. Typically, about 98 percent are women.
In 2007, 47 percent of the students received some sort of child support; 18 percent had filed bankruptcy, with medical bills being the cause in the majority of cases; 40 percent received food stamps; 97 percent of the children were under 18; 36 percent of the children
The program isn’t easy, and neither is getting in. Each student application is looked at by a team of volunteers, which also conducts interviews of those approved for the next level.
“ Not everybody gets in, ” Penner said.
In 2007, there were 201 applicants. One hundred and two made it to the interview stage, and 97 were ultimately approved.
Along with helping the students further their
Each year, 30 to 35 students graduate either from community college with a two-year certificate or at the university level with a four-year degree.
The success rate is as high as 70 percent, Penner said.
“ We don’t measure success on the graduation rate, ” she said. “ We measure it on whether or not we raised their standard of living. ”
Most of those who fail to complete their particular program do so because of personal reasons, she said. Occasionally, somebody will drop out because they found a good-paying job that offers benefits for them and their children.
The students do not receive cash. They present the bills for which they need assistance, and the program cuts checks to those businesses.
Last year, checks were sent to 563 companies in Benton County, 16 of them in Bella Vista. In Washington County, 224 businesses were paid by the SPSF.
Between 1999 and 2007, the organization put more than $ 3. 5 million back into the local economy, Penner said.
That amount doesn’t reflect the benefit received from more people going off the government dole once they receive an education and secure a job, or betterpaying job, she noted.
As for grades, a 2. 0, “ C ” average is required to stay in the program. Each student must present their class schedule for approval and a copy of their report card each time it is issued.
Penner said it is not unusual to see GPAs at or above 3. 5.
The scholarship fund serves nearly all of the counties in Arkansas.
Penner said they have now opened an office in Fayetteville.
The program is “ going national, ” she said, with plans to have at least one office in every state in the U. S.
The organization’s Bentonville office has three fulltime employees, three parttime staff and more than 100 volunteers.
Along with screening applicants, the volunteers perform many duties, such as helping with financial aid, securing different types of benefits for the parents and children, and doing followup surveys on graduates.
The program has not only been successful for those enrolled.
Penner said they are seeing positive results in the participants ’ offspring, as well.
“ A big percentage of those children have finished high school and gone on to college, ” she said.
In an independent evaluation of the program, conducted in 2002, 91 percent of the respondents reported that the SPSF increased their self-esteem.
Ninety percent said they were more independent, and an equal amount said both they and their children were experiencing a higher standard of living.
More than 80 percent said it had an impact on their earning potential, and 61 percent said it impacted their job opportunities.
In addition, the survey found that even those who did not complete the program were less likely to participate in any welfare program.
Graduates were more likely to purchase their own homes, and their offspring were more likely to be better students because of the successes of their parents.
For more information on the Single Parent Scholarship Fund, call 254-8550, email to spsfbc @ spsfbc. com or go to http: // www. spsfbc. com /.
The program’s Bentonville office is located across the street from Helping Hands Inc.
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