Single Mother Support Fund recipient Sarah was in a situation where she was juggling multiple jobs, while also trying to study and to prioritize her children to give them the love, time, and attention they need. She found herself overextended and stretched thin. In Sarah’s words: “my hands were tied in a way that is particular to single mothers – especially those of us with very young children, or children who have been through trauma. They limit our hours available to work, the opportunities we can say yes to. And they need us emotionally in a way that I can’t outsource.”
After the end of a ten-year marriage, Sarah was motivated to consider her long-term career goals and was driven to find a way to support herself and her family, and to provide the experiences she wanted her children to be able to access. She was introduced to Cause We Care and applied for the Single Mother’s Support Fund. As a recipient of this grant, Sarah received funding for her third and final year in her post-baccalaureate program in Health Information Management, allowing her “to focus on completing my program, without compromising being present for my kids.”
From there, Sarah’s opportunities only grew. Sarah successfully graduated from her program as of October 2023, and accepted a full-time position with Providence Healthcare. Her role as a Medical Coder for Sechelt and Lion’s Gate Hospitals allows her a schedule that accommodates her full-time parenting responsibilities, with the option of working remotely from home once training is complete.
To the donors and supporters of Cause We Care, Sarah shares her gratitude: When I look at how far we’ve come from the swamp sludge of five years ago to the autonomy and authenticity of today, I can’t express how grateful I am for organizations like Cause We Care, the YWCA, and First Call for their advocacy for people like me. For the resources and workshops, for funding the scholarships and grants that make it possible for us to build a better life for ourselves and our children.”