This National Single Parent Day, help single parents reach their academic and career goals with nonprofit Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund.
About 10 years ago, Shae Hughes and her daughter were struggling. They were living paycheck to paycheck with help from food stamps and other government assistance.
Today, Shae is thriving. She’s working for JLL as a marketing and community engagement manager, and her daughter is heading to Hendrix College this fall. This month, she joined the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF) board of directors.
What changed for Shae over those 10 years? A bachelor’s degree, which she earned thanks to her hard work and scholarships like ASPSF. In Arkansas, over 130,000 single parents are raising kids alone. Many of them — like Shae once did — struggle to afford higher education that can lift their whole family out of poverty.
Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund is tackling this issue on Friday, March 21 with its inaugural ASPSF Day of Giving. This 24-hour event on National Single Parent Day will raise funds to support low-income single parents pursuing higher education by bringing together the local community to make a lasting impact on the lives of single parents.
So far, the following cities are declaring March 21 as ASPSF Day of Giving: Cabot, Conway, Jonesboro, Maumelle, and North Little Rock. Here’s how the community can get involved:
- Donate online at aspsfday.org.
- Become an ASPSF Ambassador and rally friends and family to join in and support single parents
- Make and share a video of yourself juggling to represent all the activities that single parents balance alone.
- Drop by in person 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on March 21 at The Filling Station, 3623 John F Kennedy Blvd. North Little Rock, AR 72116. All donations made here will be matched!
Gifts made on ASPSF Day of Giving will go toward the nonprofit’s single parent scholarships, service-learning workshops for recipients, emergency support fund for recipients, an endowed scholarship, annual fund, or where needed most.
For more information about the event, contact ASPSF Chief Communications Officer Jen Lawrence at jlawrence@aspsf.org or 501-550-6304.
About Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund: For more than 30 years, Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund has worked to create stronger, more educated, and more self-sufficient families. Through scholarships and services, ASPSF opens doors for low-income single parents, helping them pursue education, secure employment, and transform the future for their families. With the help of volunteers and community support, ASPSF creates multigenerational change, transforming lives for both single parents and their children. For information about scholarships, volunteer opportunities, and ways to give, visit www.aspsf.org.
A decade after receiving her single parent scholarship, ASPSF Board Member and Alum Shae Hughes (left) is watching her daughter Kayla prepare to become a freshman in college as a business and economics major.
