For Raylynn Hampton, a 27-year-old San Antonian juggling a job as an administrative assistant at Oak Meadow Elementary School, studying for a degree in education online, spearheading a nonprofit, and raising a 3-year-old daughter is a masterclass in multitasking. This balancing act has been given a lifeline in the form of a $12,000 child care grant from United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, according to a San Antonio Report interview. "It has done a lot for my life beyond, you know, just being able to afford child care," Hampton affirmed, "I have completely done a 360 in my life from where I was to here."
The financial boost is part of the United Way Child Care Scholarships, funded by an exclusive network of United Way donors known as Women United. Each year they host the Power of the Purse luncheon, replete with a purse auction flaunting goods from both local, and international designers. The last event this past April raised a healthy sum of $294,000 all told, according to Naphtali Bryant, the group's child care scholarship coordinator.
Between luncheons, auctions, and other efforts, the scholarship fund currently sits north of $750,000, as Bryant pointed out. This support not only alleviates daycare costs for students like Hampton but also sets requirements encouraging responsible financial management and educational success: maintaining a GPA minimum of 2.5, for instance. "I will graduate, relatively debt-free, but [that] I will be graduating at all [is] thanks to this program," Hampton told the San Antonio Report.
But the initiative is more than just cash assistance. Participants must clear a financial literacy course, attend monthly meetings with Bryant, and are partnered with a mentor from Women United's expansive 3,100-plus network. Bryant echoes the long-term benefit, "So now you get that opportunity to get the resumes [and] you get the networking events so when you graduate, there’s a great possibility that you get the job you’re looking for." With all these resources in place, the United Way scholarships offer more than just financial aid; they're a launching pad for futures waiting to be written.
