Single Parent Grants to Help the Family Survive Tough Times

There are many federal grants for single parents. Such single parent grants include housing, education, hospitalization, welfare, and even business grants. These opportunities provide single parents the chance to have a less burdensome life especially in these financially critical times. Parents can go to college and finish their studies, have a comfortable house for the family, have food on the table, get free medical checkups, and even start a small business of their own. Government can give all these as it wants all the citizens to enjoy a decent life.

If you are wondering how you can avail of single parent grants, the first thing to do would be to ask around. Visit government offices and they will be glad to give you the information you need. There is also plenty of information in websites for single parents. You just need to determine what kind of grant you would like to avail of. Choose the one that is necessary at the moment.

After determining your needs, start applying for the grant. There are forms to be filled out and submitted. In the case of scholarships, you need to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you need medical insurance, you need to visit the state health department and ask for medical insurance for a single parent. If you would like to avail of a housing grant, you should submit the needed documents and requirements asked by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Among the most useful single parent grants are the child care grants. Qualified families for this type of grant will avail of government assistance to pay for child care expenses. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families provides this aid to allow parents to enroll their children in the child care facility or school of their choice. The size of the family will determine how much assistance will be given. If you wish to apply for this grant, you need to go to the local Department of Health and Human Services office and present supporting papers and documents needed.

The government believes that a college degree will give a person the chance to eventually land a good-paying job. The Federal Pell Grant is given to single mothers or fathers who have not received college education and would like to continue their studies. The U.S. Department of Education gives this grant without any repayment at all. This financial aid gives $5100 to the beneficiary. Application can be made through the Department of Education or through a school's financial aid division.

Single mothers and fathers can also avail of food coupons from the government to ensure that they will have enough to eat every day. This is the most important and basic of all grants, since it provides for the sustenance needs of a family which of course are basic for survival. Without food, families will never survive. There are many opportunities single parents can grab in order to give their children a decent living, and all they need is the patience to look and apply for these grants.

Are you looking for more single parent families information? Visit singleparentcenter.net for more information for single parent families, like single parent grants, dating tips and childcare options and help.

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In Budget Crunch, Science Fairs Struggle to Survive

Things do not always go as planned at the competition, which one teacher called a “track-and-field event for nerds.” But a high school sophomore, John Hickernell, said he was happy just to be at the event, the Illinois Science Olympiad, after one team had to back out at the last minute because members could not raise enough money to attend.

“I’m upset about my event,” John said. “Imagine not even getting to compete at all.”

Securing financing for these competitions and for the time-honored local science fair has become increasingly difficult because of the poor economy, organizers say. Sponsors have dropped out of local science fairs, while some schools are scaling back extracurricular activities, including science programs, because of state budget cuts.

In Missouri, two prominent science fairs in the St. Louis area are having financing problems after losing corporate donations. One California school district did not have a science fair last school year, and Louisiana’s statewide competition was almost canceled last spring.

“The donations are down dramatically this year,” said Jill Malcom, the director of the Mastodon Art and Science Regional Fair, one of the St. Louis-area competitions. “We are doing whatever it takes to keep the fair going.”

Science programs are more important than ever because the country needs students who are interested in science to compete in the global economy, said Paula Golden, the director of the Broadcom Foundation, which finances a prominent national science competition for middle school students.

“Without a body of young people who are innovators and scientists and engineers, we cannot sustain any kind of growth economically,” Ms. Golden said. “It is a national crisis.”

The Society for Science & the Public, a nonprofit group that holds an annual international science fair, does not track local science fair financing issues, but a spokesman said the group had received feedback regarding problems.

“I certainly hear all the time that schools are challenged to have science fairs — for financial reasons or because they have to focus on testing,” said the spokesman, Rick Bates.

The Alvord Unified School District in Riverside, Calif., did not hold a science fair last school year because of budget cuts. Students and teachers were disappointed, but officials had to make cuts somewhere, said Cynthia Glover Woods, the district’s director for elementary education.

The district did not plan to hold a science fair this school year until the Alvord Educational Foundation stepped in and offered to find sponsors. The president of the foundation, Grey Frandsen, said he could not believe that students were missing out on a formative experience.

“Here in Southern California, our economy has been decimated,” he said. “The science and technology fields are some areas of bright hope.”

In Louisiana, the regional and statewide science fairs scheduled for last spring were almost canceled. When Louisiana State University lost financing in the state budget, officials eliminated the programs but then reinstated them with private financing.

The Academy of Science — St. Louis Science Fair, scheduled for the spring, lost half of its financing when the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, withdrew as a sponsor after giving $65,000 last school year. Organizers said they were hopeful that another donor would come forward.

The fair’s director, Mary E. Burke, pointed to the two students it sent to an international science fair last school year as examples of how fairs inspire students. One student tested the DNA of a plant he found while traveling in China and determined that it was an unidentified species. Another student got an internship at a laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis after she did a project about why some of her relatives had diabetes and others did not.

“We tell the families that when your child goes ‘huh’ and wonders about this or that, write it down. That is a science project,” Ms. Burke said. “Those are the projects they really love that make them realize science is fun.”

The Mastodon fair has lost dozens of sponsors. Its budget has dropped from $250,000 last year to $118,000 for the March fair. Ms. Malcom, the fair’s director, is scrounging for money to buy the $3 medals for second- and third-place winners and worrying about how to fund scholarships.

“This event really can be the spark that changes a kid’s life,” Ms. Malcom said.

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