Ford Family Deepens Legacy of Educational Opportunity with $500,000 Gift, Growing Endowment to $1.5 Million
For more than a decade, the name Ford has been synonymous with opportunity at Penhold Crossing School. Now, that legacy has grown again. Longtime Penhold residents Stewart and Eileen Ford have added $500,000 to their scholarship fund at the Community Foundation of Central Alberta, bringing the Ford Family Endowment Fund to a total of $1.5 million, and making a significant investment in educational opportunities for students.
The new gift will allow the fund to award five scholarships of $10,000 each, every year, in perpetuity, providing substantial support to graduating students pursuing post-secondary education.
A Legacy Rooted in Belief
The story of the Ford Family Endowment Fund began in 2013, when Stewart and Eileen made their first $500,000 commitment to invest in the future of students graduating from Penhold Crossing School. The gift was personal from the start. Stewart’s parents were teachers, and Eileen herself once taught at Penhold School. Their own grandchildren attended Penhold School, with their oldest among the first class to move through the new Penhold Crossing High School.
For the Fords, education has always been a core value. This foundational belief in the power of education planted the seed for the Ford Family Fund, built not for a single graduating class, but for generations to come.
Ten Years of Impact, and Counting
Since its first scholarships were awarded in 2014, the fund has distributed $355,000 to Penhold Crossing students, initially offering five to six scholarships of $5,000 each. In 2024, marking the fund’s tenth anniversary, the Fords responded to the rising cost of post-secondary education by doubling each award to $10,000.
CFCAB Executive Director Erin Peden says, “The Ford Family’s generosity and foresight is profound. We know that the fund’s true impact reaches beyond the money into the stories of Penhold graduates who found the encouragement and means to pursue their passions because one family chose to invest in them.”
Dr. Ryan Sawula, Superintendent of Schools for Chinook’s Edge School Division, echoed that sentiment, pointing to the tangible difference the awards make for graduates each year.
“The Ford Family Scholarships make a real difference for Penhold Crossing Secondary School graduates every year. A $10,000 award can mean starting post-secondary right away instead of putting it off, or focusing on studies instead of working long hours to cover tuition. Preparing students for a successful move into post-secondary education and careers is a priority for Chinook’s Edge School Division, and the Ford family’s generosity puts meaningful support behind that work. On behalf of the division, thank you to the Ford family for investing in our students’ futures.”
Looking Ahead
With the endowment now at $1.5 million, the Ford Family Scholarship enters its next chapter as a cornerstone of opportunity in Penhold. The scholarship is a permanent, growing resource that will support five students a year, every year, for as long as the school stands.
For the Fords, the scholarship is not about recognition but about the belief that a community that invests in its students invests in its own future. Eileen Ford put it simply when the fund was first established: she and Stewart wanted the ability to invest in something that would continue beyond their lifetimes.
Today, that vision is $1.5 million strong, and still growing.
