Parents and educators sit on white folding chairs to watch students receive their awards at the Courthouse Sunken Garden.
About 500 people attended awards event at the Courthouse Sunken Garden. Credit: Courtesy photo

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, in partnership with the Santa Barbara Foundation, honored local students in a recent awards ceremony at the Courthouse Sunken Garden.

This year the Scholarship Foundation will award college and vocational scholarships totaling nearly $7.2 million to 1,864 students throughout Santa Barbara County.

The annual awards ceremony recognizes new and returning Scholarship Foundation recipients. More than 500 people attended, including students, parents, educators, and community leaders.

Scholarship Foundation Board Chair Matt Rowe and Santa Barbara Foundation Board Chair Steve Hicks were the featured speakers at the ceremony.

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is the nation’s largest community-based provider of college scholarships, having cumulatively awarded in excess of $140 million to more than 60,000 county students since its founding in 1962.

A nonprofit, the Scholarship Foundation also provides free financial aid advising services. For more, visit www.sbscholarship.org.