After leaving not just one, but two abusive relationships, Cara Brookins and her kids were in desperate need of a rebuild.
In the midst of starting over yet again, Brookins had a life-changing idea: to reconstruct her family, they needed a new house. Buying one off the market or commissioning a contractor didn’t work for their dream house plans or their budget, but buying supplies and building with their own hands did.
So, armed with a loan to cover materials and all the wisdom and confidence they could glean from YouTube tutorials, the Brookins crew took on each phase of the monumental project. They did everything from designing the floorplan and laying the foundation to framing and finishing. It’s the captivating journey she shares in her 2017 bestselling memoir “Rise” and a tale she’s told to countless audiences as a motivational speaker.
Although she’s from Wisconsin, Brookins has called Arkansas home for many years. Her famed 3,500-square-foot home, lovingly dubbed Inkwell Manor, is located in Bryant. This September, she’s excited to give back to her adopted home as the keynote speaker at the 2026 A Day of Hope luncheon benefiting the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF). For Brookins, it’s a commitment made all the sweeter because of the contribution ASPSF made in her own life.
“It’s truly fun because, when they reached out to me to speak at their event, they didn’t even know that I was actually a recipient of that scholarship,” she shares. “They were just reaching out because of the story, and they thought it would be inspiring for me to come in and share it. I’m like, ‘No, actually, this was really important to me because it was instrumental in me getting a degree.’”
About a decade before she decided to take on the challenge of building her own home, Brookins found herself facing another daunting task.
“I became a mother really young, and I wanted a better future for us,” Brookins says. “I didn’t have a college degree. I’d never gone to college, so with babies, like 1 and 2 years old, I started at Arkansas State University.”
Although she had a full academic scholarship, Brookins still needed more help as she pursued her degree.
“I was trying to balance school, work, home, all the things that you have when you’re raising a family,” she says. “I applied for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund for practical things. They helped me cover childcare during the times I was in class, and also books, which were outrageously expensive.”
While Brookins received her scholarship in the ’90s, her situation as she worked toward her degree echoes the experiences of the students ASPSF serves today. According to CEO Jenn Morehead, many of their scholarship recipients are also balancing school, work and raising children while, just like Brookins, navigating rising costs and unexpected challenges.
The crucial financial relief that helped Brookins and thousands like her highlights the core mission driving ASPSF since its founding in 1990.
“For 36 years, ASPSF has invested more than $50 million in single parents who are working hard to create better futures for themselves and their children,” Morehead says. “Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund exists to end single parent poverty through higher education.”
And just as Brookins was able to cover aspects of her education that were particular to her situation like childcare and books, current ASPSF students are able to apply funds where they need them most. These flexible scholarships can help cover expenses such as tuition and transportation, but also rent, groceries or utilities.
For Brookins, the financial aid ASPSF provided was crucial, but she found the emotional support she experienced truly transformational.
“There’s nothing personal behind an academic scholarship, it’s just data. But when you receive another scholarship that you had to compel someone to give you, it feels personal, and there is belief behind it,” Brookins says. “I had to write an essay to tell [ASPSF] what I was doing and what I wanted to do. They believed I could, and they gave me the money to do it. It had a huge impact.”
Brookins sees a clear throughline between working toward her degree, class by class, and building her home years later, board by board. The associate degree she earned with ASPSF’s scholarship and her subsequent bachelor’s degree set her on a path for a successful 20-year career in software engineering, a line of work and accompanying confidence that supported her family even through the most turbulent times.
“It’s a progressive story,” she says. “It’s just reality that that degree was important, but the belief that I could accomplish something difficult was even more important. I learned that I could tackle difficult, uncertain, overwhelming things, and that I was capable of seeing them through to success.”
And that belief was strong enough to carry her through even the seemingly insurmountable task of building a home with a crew of two teens, one tween and one toddler.
“That belief is the foundation of why that idea was possible. It’s how it all started,” Brookins says. “It sounds just ridiculous, but it was really, really that simple of an origin story.”
Empowering their students continues to be foundational to ASPSF’s current work. Beyond financial support, which ranges from $400 to $1,600 per semester, ASPSF offers well-rounded resources to support single parents in many aspects of their lives beyond the classroom or even their career.
“Students also have access to mentoring, workshops, career development resources and a community of support that helps them stay on track toward graduation,” says Morehead, underscoring the lasting impact of their work. “When a single parent earns a degree or certificate, the impact reaches far beyond one person. Families gain greater financial stability, children see new possibilities for their futures and communities become stronger”
Arkansans who want to plug into ASPSF’s work can volunteer to review applications and assist at events, but also mentor students and share professional expertise through ASPSF workshops.
After publishing her memoir, Brookins continued to build on the lessons she learned while she and her kids built their own house. Her story became a viral sensation that changed the trajectory of her career. In addition to “Rise,” Brookins has published novels and freelanced for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette while working at her day job in tech. And with the success of her memoir, she added keynote speaker to her resume.
Even so, it took a few years to process the most powerful lessons she could share from her experience.
“After ‘Rise,’ people were primarily asking me to speak about resilience,” she says.
And resilience is certainly a hallmark of the stories of both Brookins and countless ASPSF students. But a new theme that is just as poignant for the ASPSF audience emerged for Brookins during the pandemic.
“Resilience is all about bouncing back. And if we are having to bounce back, it means we hit the bottom. And we were all tired of hitting the ground,” she says.
It was at that point Brookins trademarked the term “adaptitude.”
“What if instead of being better at bouncing when we hit, we’re better at adapting to change in real time? That way, we don’t have to bounce back as often,” she says. “What if we become more able to manage the uncertainty and disruption as it hits?”
Her inspirational story and work as a public speaker reconnected her with ASPSF and its annual event A Day of Hope. According to Morehead, the fundraiser is pivotal for the nonprofit’s work year-round, supporting its annual fund that provides flexibility to meet students’ greatest needs. These funds are applied to a wide variety of services for ASPSF students including scholarships, emergency support, mentoring and career coaching.
“Every dollar invested helps remove barriers that can prevent a parent from completing their education and reaching their goals. These resources help single parents stay focused on earning the education and credentials that can create lasting opportunities,” Morehead says.
The event, now in its fourth year, has become an important occasion for the nonprofit and its supporters.
“A Day of Hope is more than a fundraiser,” Morehead says. “It is a celebration of resilience, opportunity and the life-changing impact of education for single parent families.”
This year, ASPSF will also honor North Arkansas College, Bank OZK and ASPSF alumna Bailey Hutcheson for their outstanding commitment to empowering single parent students. In addition to Brookins, Conway teacher CJ Summerville will also share his story with attendees.
“Their experiences demonstrate the resilience, determination and hope that define so many of the families ASPSF serves,” Morehead says.
ASPSF has made big steps in its history, leading to a successful 2026 and bright future ahead. While the fund was founded nearly four decades ago, local county affiliates decided to streamline their efforts across the state in 2017. Now, ASPSF serves 69 of Arkansas’ 75 counties, as well as Bowie County in Texas. These consolidated efforts have continued to reap fantastic benefits for ASPSF and single parents.
“We’ve experienced remarkable growth in 2025, thanks in part to special project funding from an anonymous donor,” Morehead says.
In 2025, 814 single parents received 1,394 scholarships across three semesters, totaling more than $1.8 million. The momentum continued in 2026, and this spring alone, ASPSF awarded approximately $660,000 in scholarships to 453 single parents across Arkansas.
Community support has also evolved in step with the organization’s growth. ASPSF’s second annual Day of Giving raised more than $56,000 for National Single Parent Day, while last year’s A Day of Hope raised approximately $112,000.
In addition to the growth in community support, 2026 also saw an exciting new community sprout for the organization with the launch of its Alumni Alliance. According to Morehead, this group of former scholarship recipients is networking to give back by encouraging, mentoring and inspiring current students.
“Since 1990, thousands of single parents have used education as a pathway to greater stability for their families. The Alumni Alliance helps reconnect those graduates with ASPSF while creating opportunities for them to share their experiences, celebrate their achievements and encourage current students who are working toward similar goals,” Morehead says.
In this chapter, Brookins is also focused on sharing with others the inspiration she felt as a result of the belief ASPSF had in her. She approaches every project, from a movie script about her life to a single interview for a magazine, with the same hope. She doesn’t want to highlight her struggles or elevate herself as a hero. Her goal is to inspire.
“It’s this idea that, ‘Hey, if this kind of bumbling, partially inept person could wander onto this construction site and somehow end up with a house, then I could do anything,’” she says. “It’s that feeling of, ‘Okay, if she could do it, I could do it.’ That’s how I want everybody to walk away.”
A day of hope, benefiting the arkansas single parent scholarship fund
Sept. 18, 11:30 a.m. | Next Level Events
Info:aspsf.org/hope
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