You helped us surpass our goal!

July 12, 2010 by JRF

Michele, a new JRF scholar in 2010, with her daughter and her "Outstanding Academic Achievement Award" for the past school year.

Thank you for the wonderful support we received from all over the country. More than $86,000 was raised as part of the Sunshine Lady Challenge. We did it!

The entire amount will be doubled, so $172,000 will be used to support JRF’s program. Many groups and individuals came together to make this possible – from board members to the Women of UGA to marathon runners and everyone in between – we are ever grateful for your passion and dedication for empowering low-income women.

One woman who has been helped this year, Michele, returned to college in 2007 after 17 years after, when she decided that she needed to secure a better future for herself and her daughter. She is maintaining a 4.0 GPA while fulfilling the responsibilities of being a single parent and working to support her family.

“It’s been a long road to become an honor student at the age of 39, but I denied myself an education twenty years ago, and I intend to finish,” Michele said.

She is earning her bachelor’s degree in Human Sciences and plans to teach at the secondary school level. Her expected graduation date is in May 2012.

“I want my daughter to understand that I value education. I want the students I teach to benefit from my knowledge. And I especially want to be a positive influence on kids who think they don’t need an education.”