BEAUMONT, Texas — Hundreds packed the Rockin A Cafe on Tuesday to support SMORE.
Red, White & Bingo night provided a fun, family-friendly fundraiser.
SMORE stands for Single Moms Overjoyed, Rejuvenated, Empowered.
With help from the group, Jacqueline Guillory has been fully funded by SMORE to complete her college education.
"I didn't quite know how to attain that yet, raising my kids I always put my kids' education first," Guillory said. "It just so happened that SMORE came into my life and it's been a blessing ever since."
Guillory is attending Lamar University and plans to graduate in August.
She will become the organization's first candidate to finish her education.
It's a milestone SMORE founder Gail Showalter is happy to help with.
"I had been a single mother and I realized there were lots of them around who might deserve a bit of a break. So, we started doing events for them," Showalter said.
Guillory encourages single mothers in the area to push for their goal and education.
"Don't give up, don't lose what you know is your dream that's within you. It's there," Guillory said.
More than 300 men, women and children attended the event on Tuesday.
Showalter tells 12News the next step is to open a facility for single mothers.
"We're looking to the future and one of the things that we really want to see in Southeast Texas is for there to be a facility where moms can live for two years with their children while they go to school," Showalter said.
She adds Tuesday's fundraiser generated more than $10,000.
