Arkansas nonprofit encourages single parents to continue their education by offering scholarships

TEXARKANA, Ark. (KSLA) - An organization based in Arkansas is encouraging single parents to continue their education by offering financial aid through scholarships.

Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 18), Katrine Eason of Bradley, Ark. met with an interview committee for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF). Eason is a single parent; her oldest child is a college student and this is motivating Eason to further her education.

“I want to beat him. I want to finish before he finish,” Eason said.

In order for Eason to reach this goal, she says help is needed. That’s where the ASPSF comes in.

“It is a lot of people out there that needs those funds to help them finish school or get them started or help them along the way,” said Eason.

The ASPSF provides financial assistance and support to single parents pursuing skill trade certifications and college degrees. Now the organization is seeking scholarship applicants for summer classes.

“The program is great because it gives single parents, which I call the forgotten community, the opportunity to make a positive impact in their lives. And we believe if we can pull the parent out of poverty, we can pull the children out of poverty,” said Sandra Warren, program manager of ASPSF.

Warren says the scholarships are available to men and women who are single parents with custody of their children. The full-time scholarship is worth $1,200 and can be used at any college or university in Arkansas and Bowie County, Texas.

“In 2021, our impact was we gave out over $1.4 million in scholarship money. We impacted 1,430 scholarships were given that year,” Warren said.

March 15 is the deadline to apply for the scholarship. Click here to apply online.

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