My husband and I are so grateful for all the donations to the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids (PIAK) scholarship, and we were really delighted to hear that it has grown this year and can help more students like our great-granddaughter Angelina.

She has had some turbulence in her young life, and for that reason we are very protective. We not only provide care for her in a safe, loving environment in our home, we also want her to be safe and loved at school.

Last year, as she entered fifth grade, it was very important for us and for her to find a place where she could have her spiritual needs met along with her educational needs. Too often these days people have nothing to fall back on, but we wanted to ensure that she found that in God.

Now in her second year at Immaculate Conception, she’s not only excited to have made new friends and joined choir last year, she tells us when a priest comes to visit with the class and what she learns from him, growing in her faith as she approaches confirmation.

I’ve worked to instill the importance of education in her, and I believe she’s taken that to heart and is putting education first, making plans for her future at Mount St. Mary Academy. I tell her, “God willing, we’ll see”–and remind her to keep her grades up.

Simply put, as financial providers for her, we could not afford these blessings for her without the assistance of this scholarship, which you’ve helped make possible.

Education is so vital. You cannot do anything in life without an education. To those who contribute to and prioritize education, particularly for others, God bless you, and thank you so much.

– Jo Roth, Sherwood