Businesses Support Endowed Scholarships

Thanks to the support of some of the region’s top businesses, the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas is on the verge of finishing its largest capital campaign in the organization’s history.

Executive director Jody Dilday said the Pathway to Prosperity campaign for endowed scholarships is at about $2.6 million, just shy of the goal of $3 million, and that 36 individuals and companies have already contributed.

Dilday said she has a few “big asks” still outstanding and that she’s confident the campaign, which began in October 2014, will soon conclude. Tyson Foods Inc. donated $250,000, while United Bank and Washington Regional Medical Center donated $50,000 apiece. Companies giving $25,000 include McDonald’s, First Security Bank, Garrison Financial Corp., and law firm Cypert, Crouch, Clark & Harwell PLLC.

For the spring semester, the scholarship fund, founded in 1984, will award 97 students in Carroll, Madison and Washington counties. The scholarship fund mounted the campaign due in part to a halt in support from the Walmart Foundation. Dilday said that when she heard the news, she sulked for a while and then sprang into action.

She recalls telling her staff, “This is going to be a blessing in disguise and we will be stronger as a result.”