Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania, has made a major addition to its Ruth Matthews Bourger Women With Children Program. The program, established in 2000, provides housing to single women with up to two children so the mothers can attend college without having to worry about housing costs for their families.
Misericordia University, located just west of Scranton, is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. It enrolls about 2,400 undergraduate students and 600 graduate students. Women make up 68 percent of the undergraduate student body.
The university recently opened the Robert Y. Moffat House, made possible with a $415,000 grant from the Robert Y. Moffat Family Charitable Trust. The third residence for single mothers expands the university program’s capacity from 10 to 16 mothers and from 20 to 32 children.
In addition to helping the single mothers, the resources of the university are made available to the mothers’ children.
Yvette Wentland, trustee of the Moffat Family Charitable Trust, said that “the Bourger Women with Children Program breaks the cycle of poverty. It’s not only the moms, it’s the children, too. I think this support was something he (Mr. Moffat) would have wanted: There are children involved, there’s education involved, there’s a need to provide support to these deserving women. Though some people really want to improve themselves, they do not always have the means.”
Below is a video about the program.