This year, the PFCF awarded Life Happens with a special $20,000 grant. Originally, this grant was to be presented during the NFP Strategy Summit in Austin. However, the summit’s cancellation due to COVID-19 made this impossible. Instead, Faisa Stafford, president and CEO of Life Happens, graciously accepted the grant on behalf of the organization.
A college education is already a financial challenge for American families, but it becomes more challenging when a parent dies, leaving little or no life insurance. This challenge is reflected in the nearly 100 million Americans with no life insurance, or most with far less than the recommended coverage.
Life Happens established the Life Lessons Scholarship Program in 2005 and it has since helped over 600 students with scholarships and speaking engagements all over the country. Students apply each year with an essay or video detailing how the lack of life insurance impacted their lives both emotionally and financially.
About This Year’s Recipients
This year’s recipients are Devin Guardinom and Ariel Jefferson.
Devin was only five years old when he lost his dad. The next few years were tough with only a small life insurance policy left behind for Devin and his family. His mother’s dream of starting a college fund for her sons was impossible due to the small policy. To contribute to his college savings, he worked at a grocery store throughout high school. Hard work pays off: this fall, Devin will be attending his dream school, the University of Oregon, to major in economics and finance.
As Ariel Jefferson puts it, her mother, Joy, was her best friend and hero. Raising Ariel and her siblings as a single mother, Joy’s priority was always her children’s education. She wanted better for her kids than she had herself. Sadly, in 2016, Joy lost her battle with breast cancer. Despite this hardship, Ariel was still determined to achieve her dream and never stopped working toward her goal of an education. In fall 2020, Ariel will be a junior at Florida State University majoring in elementary education.
To learn more about Devin and Ariel and their stories, you can access their application videos and thank you notes.