Arvest Bank helps single parents graduate college, overcome poverty

Daily Oklahoman - 11/7/2018

Nov. 07--email

Q: Why is Arvest so committed to supporting the Oklahoma Single Parent Scholarship Program (OSPSP)?

A: OSPSP is relatively new in Oklahoma and has already awarded 23 scholarships to single parents in central Oklahoma. Several recipients have graduated and begun new careers. The group's scholarships of $1,000 each semester make a difference to these hardworking parents. Oklahoma Single Parent Scholarship also pairs each scholarship recipient with a volunteer mentor who is there to offer encouragement, a listening ear and advice. Our confidence also comes from Arkansas, where Arvest has a long history of supporting a similar program that has helped thousands of single parents graduate from college over the past 30 years. Participants in the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund have succeeded at remarkable rates as a result of the financial support and supportive services. About 87 percent stay in school or graduate each year, a success rate that is higher than that for traditional students who don't have children.

Q: What is unique about the challenges of single parent families in Oklahoma?

A: A quarter of Oklahoma children live in poverty, but those from single-parent homes are about four times more likely to be impoverished than those living in a two-parent home.

Q: What is the path to help low-income single parents become more self-sufficient?

A: There's a saying at Oklahoma Single Parent Scholarship that I really like: When you bring a single parent out of poverty, she brings her children with her. And a college degree can make all the difference. In Oklahoma, workers with just a high school degree have a median income of about $27,000, it's about $43,000 for those with a bachelor's degree. While education can change everything for these families, it's difficult for a single parent living in poverty to work, pursue a college degree and raise children alone -- all while doing their best to stretch limited incomes. A flat tire, a sick child or an unexpected bill can cause a single parent who's barely making it to drop out of college and abandon their dreams of a college degree and self-sufficiency. A comprehensive study in 2011 sponsored by the Women's Foundation of Oklahoma found that single mothers in Oklahoma face tremendous barriers to completing college degrees, not the least of which were financial barriers. The study found few -- if any -- scholarships designed to assist the special needs of single parents because most of them are not immediate high school graduates. The study found too many single parents begin college only to drop out due to unexpected expenses that cause them to have to work more hours just to make ends meet. The scholarship can be the cushion parents need to overcome the emergency, stay in school and graduate.

PAULA BURKES, BUSINESS WRITER

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