Mark Garwood Foundation

06/08/2026

The Mark Garwood Foundation Family sends our best wishes to recent Phoenix Scholarship alumnus Crysta Snyder on her recent wedding in New Orleans. Congratulations!

06/05/2026

IT’S GETTING CLOSER!
Applications for 2027 Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarships will open in 5 weeks!

Applications will be accepted July 15 – September 15, with scholarships awarded on November 6, 2027.

Since 2015, the Mark Garwood Foundation has awarded over $700,000 in Phoenix Scholarships to 86 adults who are in recovery. Our 37 alumni have earned 55 degrees, confirming our belief that RECOVERY + EDUCATION = SUCCESS!

If you live in Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach or Broward County and you are in recovery, committed to long-term sobriety and ready to begin or continue your education, a Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship may be able to help you achieve your dreams.

For more information about the application process, visit, www.markgarwoodfoundation.org.
, , , , ,

05/26/2026

3.69! That’s the average cumulative GPA for the spring semester for our Mark Garwood Foundation Phoenix Scholarship recipients.

The traditional college student in the USA, whose only responsibility is school, has an average GPA of 3.1.

The average age of a Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship recipient is 31. Most work full or part-time, while taking classes. Many have significant others and children. All are balancing life and school and sobriety.

That’s what makes their accomplishments even more incredible and laudable. Congratulations Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship recipients! We are so honored to be able to celebrate these accomplishments with you.
, , ,

05/25/2026

05/23/2026

Something exciting is happening at the Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship program!

05/21/2026

For most traditional college and graduate students, summer is a time to rest, recharge, or maybe gain experience at an internship. For many of our Mark Garwood Foundation Phoenix Scholarship recipients, summer is just another semester.

As adult learners, focused on career, family, sobriety, and completing their education, many of our Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship recipients choose to study year-round, taking fewer classes each semester. This schedule allows them to stay on track to graduate and balance the other many demands in their lives.

We realize that schedules and demands vary from student to student and from semester to semester, so we support each student in choosing the path that is best for them.

Whether you are taking a break or studying this semester, we wish every Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship recipient a great summer!
, , ,

05/18/2026

Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship recipient Katie Hovey recently celebrated her soberverity and reflected on 8 years of sobriety. Katie, thank you for sharing some of the lessons you have learned and showing others who may be struggling that there is hope for a better future. Your Mark Garwood Foundation Family joins you in celebrating this 8-year milestone.
, , ,

05/15/2026

Yesterday, Mark Garwood Phoenix Scholarship recipient Grace Verb eloquently celebrated her 5th soberversity by acknowledging some of the gifts sobriety has given her. Friends, family, pride, happiness, laughter, love, and purpose are just some of the words Grace used to describe the blessings that have come into her life over the last 5 years. Grace, Mark Garwood Foundation is honored that we could be part of these joys by supporting your growth and continued education. Your Foundation Family joins you in commemorating this milestone and thanks you for sharing your message of healing, happiness and hope with the recovery community.

“5 years ago I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror and only took pictures of the world around me.
5 years ago I didn’t know how to be a friend.
5 years ago I had emotionally isolated myself from everyone who mattered.
5 years ago I didn’t know what it meant to be truly happy.
5 years ago I could win awards, smile for photos, and still feel completely empty inside.
5 years ago I had resigned myself to feeling that way for the rest of my life.
5 years ago today, I asked for help.
5 years ago I flew down to Florida and began the trudge to happy destiny.

Today I have friends who became family.
Today I can feel pride in the person I’ve become and continue growing into.
Today I can handle situations that once baffled me.
Today I can show up for the people I love and be present for every moment.
Today I get to continue my education and grow further into the version of myself I was meant to be.
Today I am happy in a way I genuinely didn’t believe existed in real life.
Today I am excited for my future.
Today my life is filled with laughter, love, and purpose.
Today I continue to trudge the road of happy destiny toward the broad horizon of life.

Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with my life and the person living it.
And for that, I am endlessly grateful for the life recovery has given me, for every promise that has come true and every one still to come”
, , ,