Amarillo College, Martha's Home team up to offer area women access to higher education

Amarillo College and local nonprofit Martha's Home have partnered to offer area single women and mothers access to pursuing certificates and degrees through AC’s Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) program.

Martha's Home and AC leaders signed the agreement Monday afternoon, cementing their partnership as a path of the Home's"Present Needs — Future Success” campaign.

"At Martha's Home, we serve homeless, single women and homeless mothers with children, and we have found over the years that the key to breaking the cycle for them is an education," said Connie Garcia, Executive Director for Martha's Home.

Martha's Home was established in 1987 and provides refuge, safety and security for area women and children. The nonprofit offers a wide range of programs to help those in need rebuild their lives and re-enter society as self-sufficient and responsible citizens.

The organization assists women and their children with daily physical needs, including shelter, transportation, as well as mentoring and assistance in acquiring community resources.

"What we love about Amarillo College is that there are so many programs and certificates that these women have access to, everything from six weeks to two years, and this partnership allows these women the opportunity to better their lives and their children's lives. ... We focus on their present needs, but with this, we get to focus on their future success as well," said Sharon Miner, director of development for Martha’s Home.

In addition to the new partnership, Betenbough Homes, the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation and First Baptist Church have contributed more than $75,000 in seed money to the “Present Needs — Future Success” campaign. According to Miner, over the past three years, the Home has been able to raise $112,000 for the campaign.

Amarillo College's President Russel Lowery-Hart said in a news release: "At Amarillo College, we are focused on improving student success through systemic and cultural change centered on one word: Love. ... We have come to know how pervasive poverty and its barriers are for students."

Lowery-Hart then went on to say: “Love demands action in the face of poverty, and the arms of this College will forever be open to the women served so nobly by Martha’s Home. We welcome them, we support them, and we can’t wait to see them fully succeed.”

AC's AEL program that the Homes women will be enrolling in is part of an initiative called Career Ready You, which is designed to serve students seeking high school equivalency (GED) credentials or English as a Second Language (ESL) mastery.

The program places students in GED or ESL classes as well as college-credit classes, leading to certificates of completion in areas of career interest, which can then be utilized to obtain an Associates Degree.

In the Career Ready You program, students are supported throughout their academic pursuits by career navigators, who provide individual mentoring and instructional assistance, including financial aid application assistance and tutoring.

Martha's Home currently has eight women enrolled in AC's AEL program.

According to Garcia, the nonprofit had an initial goal to enroll five women in the program but since exceeding that role has set a new goal to enroll 20 students annually.

To donate to Martha's Home or to learn more, visit them online at https://www.marthashome.org/

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: AC, Martha's Home team up to offer women access to higher education