Newest Client of Recognition Program Services Gives Women a Fresh Start

Myra Engram escaped Hurricane Katrina with her pregnant disabled daughter and nothing else. Her daughter died in childbirth shortly after their relocation. Today, Engram is the sole caregiver of her two-year-old grandson.

Audrey Hawkins’ world fell apart in 2004. She separated from an abusive husband, lost her job, and was in two car accidents that left her disabled. In the wake of these disasters, Hawkins found her calling—working with special needs children.

Jill Seaton spent most of her adult life raising two sets of twins. Though she has a degree in business, she’s been out of the workforce for a long time and has limited skills. Now divorced, she is working as a substitute teacher.

Helping women like these start over is the goal of a new scholarship program managed by ACT’s Recognition Program Services. The AARP Foundation Women’s Scholarship Program provides funds to women 40 and over who are seeking new job skills, training, and educational opportunities to support themselves and their families. The program is available to eligible women with moderate to lower incomes and limited financial resources.

Thanks to scholarships from the AARP Foundation, Engram, Hawkins, and Seaton are getting their lives back on track. Engram is studying to become a paralegal. Hawkins is obtaining additional training to open a daycare center for special needs children. Seaton is working toward a teaching certificate.

Selective Application Process

The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity of AARP, the nonprofit membership organization for people 50 and over. Both are based in Washington, DC. Adding a women’s scholarship program came naturally to an organization that has long been focused on issues affecting older workers, said Deborah Briceland-Betts, national director of women’s programs for the AARP Foundation.

“We were consistently seeing the need for retraining or reskilling for women at midlife and later, and realized there is a great need to provide opportunities for women to freshen their skills or gain new skills. As far as we know, we are the only organization offering a scholarship of this type.”

The AARP Foundation gives up to 100 scholarships per year. Awards range from $500 to $5,000 each, depending on financial need and the cost of the education or training program. The scholarships can be used for any course of study at a public or private postsecondary school, including community colleges, technical schools, and four-year colleges and universities.

The national AARP organization funds the scholarships through a donation to the foundation. The AARP Foundation Women’s Leadership Circle (WLC) provides additional support. The WLC is a group of approximately a dozen women who are committed to raising funds for scholarships for older women.

Because the need for such scholarships is so great, the foundation gives priority consideration to:

• Women raising children of another family member (such as grandparents raising grandchildren or those applicants raising siblings, nieces, or nephews)
• Women who have been out of the workforce for an extended period of time
• Women in dead-end jobs (no opportunity for advancement, low pay, and lacking health or retirement benefits)

The AARP Foundation chose ACT to help with administration of the program based on a relationship that another part of AARP has with the company. “We thought ACT had the kind of sensitivity that we required in working with this population. We were very attracted to the customer service and the wide variety of offerings ACT has to support us in this program,” said Briceland-Betts. “Given the other kinds of scholarship programs ACT has supported, we thought ACT would be able to do this without any problem.”

ACT is closely involved throughout the scholarship application process. Applicants complete an online application that was developed and is hosted by ACT. Staff at ACT organize the applicant file, including the online applications, transcripts, and financial verification forms, and evaluate the applicants’ submissions. They narrow the number of applications to approximately 750, based on criteria established by the AARP Foundation—financial need, personal circumstances and achievements, educational goals, and the likely impact of the scholarship on the applicant’s life, family, and community.

ACT sends the finalists’ applications to an on-site selection meeting hosted by the AARP Foundation. The selection committee is comprised of a select group of retired teachers who are associated with the AARP Foundation. Staff from ACT travel to Washington to facilitate the selection proceedings. This level of service is common when a client wishes to establish a fair and impartial evaluation of the applicant pool. With ACT’s guidance, each teacher reads approximately 50 applications and scores them using a uniform rating sheet. This process narrows the applicant pool to 300. Ultimately, a final review team determines the scholarship recipients.

ACT has helped make the application process go very smoothly, said Briceland-Betts. “We were concerned that our scholarship program could be huge . . . that we could have large numbers of applicants, and we wanted to make sure that those applicants at any given time would have access to the application. We felt ACT had the infrastructure to make sure that would happen. We are highly satisfied with the quality of work we’ve gotten from ACT.”

Mentor Collaboration

The AARP Foundation helps ensure the women enroll in college and stay on track. Each recipient is assigned a mentor through a partnership with the Council for Opportunity in Education. Mentors monitor the recipients’ educational progress and help them obtain additional resources as needed.

Most of the women who received scholarships in the first round are pursuing undergraduate degrees either to update skills in their current profession or to train for a new career, said Briceland-Betts. “The program is turning into a transition resource for women, whether it’s transitioning into the workplace at midlife or later, or transitioning into another job so they can continue to work later in life.”

The women applying for these scholarships know all about transitions. Many have spent the majority of their lives caring for others. Now it’s time to care for themselves.

“The AARP Foundation is bringing about a 25-year-old dream of mine. There was no other way possible without the scholarship,” said Engram.

“If it weren’t for this scholarship, school would be on the back burner for me,” said Seaton. “Now, I have to do a 360 and get moving.”

Hawkins said the scholarship provided “confirmation that she is needed.” She can now finish her college degree and help the children who’ve stolen her heart.

Stories like these assure the AARP Foundation that the scholarship program is achieving its objective.

“These are amazing women with amazing stories. They are the most tenacious group I’ve ever seen. They bump into one barrier, back up, and head in another direction until they find a door that opens. I’m proud that the AARP Foundation is one of those doors,” said Briceland-Betts.

The AARP Foundation is AARP’s affiliated charity. Foundation programs provide security, protection, and empowerment for older persons in need. Low-income older workers receive the job training and placement they need to rejoin the workforce. Free tax preparation is provided for low- and moderate-income individuals, with special attention to those 60 and older. The foundation’s litigation staff protects the legal rights of older Americans in critical health, long-term care, consumer, and employment situations. Additional programs provide information, education, and services to ensure that people over 50 lead lives of independence, dignity, and purpose. Foundation programs are funded by grants, tax-deductible contributions, and AARP.

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