Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Bunnell.
Katie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Katie Bunnell. I have personally been affected by the struggles single mothers face while pursuing education. My husband unexpectedly passed away in 2005. My world was turned upside-down, I was depressed and numb and I didn’t feel like I could live without him. I did not know how I was going to provide and care for my three-month-old daughter and myself.
Like most mothers, it was my dream to provide for my family, so attending college became more important than ever. However, it became apparent how challenging pursuing higher education as a sole provider truly is. It was difficult to find scholarships and resources to attend college. I graduated from UVU in just two and a half years, I went to school every semester, and I was focused.
That journey changed and saved my life as I was able to change my focus and move forward in a positive way. As a result of my experience, in 2010 my family and I created Live Your Dream to provide scholarships for single mothers in Utah to gain an education.
Live Your Dream provides scholarships, however, in my opinion, based on my experience, the scholarships are just the means to the end of helping women in terrible situations have a chance at moving forward in the best way possible. Many of our recipients regularly tell us about their educational journey and how it gave them hope, confidence, belief in themselves, and motivation to progress in their lives.
I believe that we are giving them the “gift of sight” in a different way by helping our single mothers see and embrace a much better world than the one they are currently stuck in. We provide the hope that they can Live Their Dream and accomplish anything that they put their minds towards.
We provide scholarships for single mothers that desire to attend college, university, or technical school. The value of each scholarship varies: tuition ($2,000-$3,000), class fee ($1,000), and textbook ($500) scholarships. The number of single mothers the program financially aids is determined by the amount of money raised each year.
The application process includes an online application and an interview with board members. All scholarship funds go directly to the school. Once a recipient has received a scholarship, she may continue to apply for the scholarship for multiple semesters.
The scholarship application deadline for the winter/spring 2023 semester is November 10, 2022. Go to our website to complete the online application, https://www.liveyourdreamfoundation.org/apply.
Today, I have since remarried and we have four children. I am grateful for my loving husband and all of his support. He continues to work hard to provide for our family so that I can accomplish my dream of helping single mothers in need. I enjoy spending time with my family, serving others, being outdoors in the sunshine, and playing practical jokes.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As president of the foundation, I run the day-to-day activity of the organization. Without the sacrifice of my family, amazing board members, donors, and volunteers, my job would be much more challenging and nearly impossible.
Our organization is unique, I believe this sets us apart from other organizations, in that the operation is completely volunteer-operated, and there are no paid employees. This allows all contributions (100%) to directly benefit single mothers and their families and not to overhead costs.
I am grateful for our community that has stepped up to allow single mother families to gain an education. Fundraising has always been a challenge for me. However, it has gotten easier with time. We have learned so much as we have carried out different events.
Our golf tournament is the main fundraiser that we hold annually. This event has sold out over the past few years. I am very proud of the time and effort that our board members have put in to make it a success. Our golf tournament is at Sleepy Ridge golf course on Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I run the foundation as a labor of love, which is a lot of work but I’m grateful to be able to make a difference in these families’ lives. I write grants, social media, review scholarship applications/interview processes, board meetings, services projects, fundraising, networking, caring for our Live Your Dream Family, document management, etc.
It is important to me to support our single mothers, we call this our “Live Your Dream Family”. It is a joy to be able to advocate for these women as they are gaining their education and after they have graduated. Once they become a Live Your Dream Scholarship Applicant, they are a part of a community of love and support.
I am very proud of the work that the foundation provides for single-mother families. We started very small, giving a few thousand dollars in scholarships. In 2021, we awarded 52 scholarships; totaling $84,900.00. Since its inception in 2010, we have awarded 161 scholarships, totaling in value over $270,460.00.
This is very exciting, entire families are impacted by education! Having a college education impacts families, friends, and communities for generations to come. Children with mothers who have higher education are more likely to attend college, participate in civic activities, and be more involved with their children, (Women and Education Initiative Madsen, 2010).
Here are some of the service projects we have provided:
-Provide Mother’s Day gifts or activities.
-Provide school supplies for single mothers children.
-ProvideThanksgiving meals for single mother families.
-Provide Christmas for single mother families.
-Provide Christmas baskets for single women.
-Provide fun activities for single mother families.
-Provide Online/App resources for single mother families.
-Provide laptop computers for single mothers education.
What are your plans for the future?
Not only are we raising money for scholarships, but we are also raising money for our endowment fund. This will allow Live Your Dream to provide scholarships for many generations to come.
Our goal is to become fully endowed and self-sustaining while helping as many single mothers as we possibly can. We currently have over $365,000 in our endowment fund with this year’s goal of reaching $500,000.
We are accomplishing this goal by raising money through grants, donations, our annual golf tournament, and investing our funds in a fiscally responsible way.
Pricing:
- Donation: $100+ Service Project.
- Donation: $300 Laptop.
- Donation: $500 Book Scholarship.
- Donation: $1,000 Fee Scholarship.
- Donation: $2,000-$3,000 Tuition Scholarship.
Contact Info:
- Email: Katie@
Liveyourdreamfoundation.org - Website: https://www.
liveyourdreamfoundation.org - Instagram: @
Liveyourdreamfoundationutah - Facebook: @
Liveyourdreamfoundationutah - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
LiveYourDreamUT - Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/channel/ UCAWFo4LFWt1dGopClTQOyiA
