Recruiting single parents for scholarships is a statewide effort

Recruiting is a priority for Single Parent Scholarships statewide, LaCresha Newton, Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund Director, told Newton County volunteers and officials, Tuesday, Oct. 8, at a local organization meeting held at the Newton County Library.
Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund's mission is to end single parent poverty through higher education.
Kim Paul-Williams, area program manager for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund, said there are 22 current recipients in the Ozark West Region with one being a Newton County resident. That student is going to school to become an actuary, a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries are essential to the insurance industry.
The application period for the next grant cycle for the spring semester opens Nov. 1 and closes on Dec. 1.
"We're going to recruit really, really, hard and try to find some students," Paul-Williams said.
Marketing efforts includes posting fliers in public areas including city hall and other governmental offices and grocery stores.
"We're just not reaching students," Paul-Williams said. "We used to have eight to 10 students every semester. I just don't understand it."
Recruiting efforts also includes online marketing and billboard advertising.
Newton said the problem is being experienced statewide with each region addressing it individually. Newton said grant applications include a question asking the applicant how they found out about the Single Parent Scholarship. Mostly it has been by word of mouth.
Newton was asked if recruitment declined as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Numbers were on the rise prior to the pandemic and the program expected numbers to decline, the director replied, but surprisingly they held steady throughout the two years of the pandemic's height and began to rebound slightly.

Could current economic conditions have an effect on applications, Newton was asked?
Newton said many parents are having to work several jobs. The Pell grant is what it is. "Parents are having to take out loans or pay additional funds depending on the kind of program they are in, or they are seeing less funding from some of those state and federal sources that they used to be able to get money from."
The benefit offered by Single Parent Scholarships is that the money goes directly to the students. They don't have to worry about it going through financial aid or counting against them in any way. The money can be used by the students for any expenses and keeps them on track for school.
Newton acknowledged students are needing more money for transportation, food and child care.
Paul-Williams noted that a full scholarship is $1,600 that can help meet those expenses.
Fund raising is also a major effort for local volunteer committees.
On Tuesday, the Newton County group kicked off its annual Thanksgiving Basket raffle. Tickets are being sold at $2 each or three for $5.
The basket is full of food items that are traditional ingredients for the holiday meal.
Paul-Williams said there is always a need for more volunteers.
The next meeting will be Nov. 12, at 1:30 p.m. at the library. The drawing for the Thanksgiving Basket will be held at that time.