Information

Did You Know?

Full-time daycare often costs as much as college tuition at a public university.

(Children's Defense Fund)

78% of mothers with 6-13 year olds work full-time. (National Center for Community Education)

More than 15 million children are unsupervised from 3-8 pm. During these hours juvenile crime triples. (National Center for Community Education)

There are 11.9 million single parents in the US. (US Census Bureau Household and Family Characteristics March 1998)

28% (20 million) of all children in the US under 18 live with one parent. (US Census Bureau March 1998 Supplement to the Current Population Survey)

Information

Imagine that you are a single parent trying hard to make ends meet for you and your child. You do everything in your power to make this happen and your financial situation seems to always be precarious. Think about all the day-to-day common problems of modern life that you would have to face when if you lose your job? Or, if your only car breaks down? How do you choose between a car repair and daycare for your children? What if you or your child is sick? How would you choose between buying weekly groceries and buying medicine? Some people don’t have to imagine this situation. If you sit back for a moment, you probably know at least 5 people in these situations…and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Over the past 30 years the number of single-mother families has increased 333%; single-father families has grown 508%. These are astounding numbers and The Single Parent Foundation is asking for your lending hand to assist these families – your neighbors, your colleagues, your child’s best friend’s family.

Single parents earning between $30,000-$40,000 per year account for only 11 percent of the 12 million single parent families in the United States, and yet they have an overall higher rate of employment (93% of single fathers; 91% of single mothers) than any group of single parents who are earning less. These people are ready and willing to meet the challenges of raising their families alone, but too often the monthly costs of rent or mortgage, daycare, a car payment, groceries, healthcare and education leave very little for any unforeseen emergency or need.

The goal of the Single Parent Foundation is to help hard-working families help themselves. The Foundation does not provide a handout but rather emergency services for the people who need it most. In some cases, we may fund an emergency car repair or a monthly daycare payment. The bottom line is that we are helping families get back on their feet – and stabilizing the lives of the children affected by the difficulties of parents struggling to meet their needs.

The Foundation has set a goal of raising $150,000 this year, which will help us provide emergency assistance to 10 families per month. After taking into account the statistics above, we would like to ask you to consider giving some assistance to American families in need. Your monetary or in-kind gift will help ensure that your struggling neighbor or colleague, dealing with the daily difficulties of single parenthood will have a chance to provide their children with the same opportunities that you strive to provide for your own children.