The campaign to raise money for the Stella Harris Oaks Single Parent Scholarship ends Wednesday, although donations will be accepted any time even after the campaign. Here’s my challenge to you:

• Make a donation (even if it’s just $5)
• Come back here and leave a comment letting me know you donated. Just a simple “I donated” is fine. You can totally be anonymous by clicking the circle next to the anonymous option in the comment box.
• For every comment left saying a donation was made I will donate $1 (up to $100).

A gracious THANK YOU to those who accepted the challenge two weeks ago! Let’s see if we can break the $10,000 mark! We did it! We broke that mark Tuesday at 3:54pm MST! Click on the donate button below.

The widget on the sidebar is updated daily. See how it also shows the total number of donors? I expect to see that number rise, okay?

Now for another little story. The scholarship is named after Stella Harris Oaks, the mother of Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Stella became a widow in 1940 when her husband, Lloyd, died of tuberculosis. Instead of being the wife of a prosperous physician she was left the single mother of three children aged 8 and younger. As you can imagine it was a very difficult time for this little family. Elder Oaks shares some of the troubles they faced at this time:

For me, the two years following my father’s death in June 1940 were turbulent and terrible. First, I lost my father. Then, six months later, I also lost my mother for nearly a year.


In January 1941, anxious to qualify herself to earn a living for her three children, Mother left us in Utah with her parents and traveled to New York City to pursue a master’s degree at Columbia University. This proved to be too soon. The loneliness resulting from this separation from her family so soon after the loss of her husband, combined with the rigors of graduate study, strained her beyond the breaking point. In May 1941 she suffered what was then called a nervous breakdown, which required medical supervision away from her family for many months. With faith and priesthood blessings and the loving support of her family, she was able to resume her employability and unassisted parenting. Her spiritual and emotional strength was felt throughout the remaining thiry-seven years of her life in her leadership and service in many professional, civic, and Church positions. . .


In August 1942, Mother being much improved, our little family was ready to function unassisted, and we moved to Vernal, Utah where Mother had obtained a teaching position at Uintah High School. There I was blessed with a stable home and family environment with the guidance of my marvelous mother. (Life’s Lessons Learned, pgs 10-12)

Many single mothers find themselves in similar positions. They ask, “How do I care for my children? How do I provide for them?” Gaining or completing a college degree is essential for them to obtain suitable employment that will ensure they are able to provide for their children. The Stella Harris Oaks Scholarship helps those single mothers (and single fathers, too!)  by easing the burden of the cost of college.

Please consider donating.

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