The Annual Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Fund
It started with hardship. After overcoming a life of trials and tribulations, Venus Morris Griffin established a scholarship fund to help children much like her own. A $10,000 annual scholarship fund was created to help deserving high school students with an incarcerated parent to ensure that nothing stops them from reaching their full potential. Since the inception of the scholarship fund, the goal grew to help more deserving individuals in need, and so the Venus Morris Griffin Foundation was born.
“I see every day through the eyes of my children how hard and stigmatizing it can be to have a parent who is incarcerated.”
“I also know how empowering it feels to be educated. I am combining both of these feelings to help give these kids a shot at a better life. A life that does not have to be defined by the poor choices of their parents.
The Annual $10,000 scholarship is awarded to a student who currently has an incarcerated parent. It is not academic-based, because I know how hard it is to maintain good grades when your home life isn’t stable.”
– Venus Morris Griffin
Venus Morris Griffin grew up in a home marked by instability and has spent much of her adult life breaking cycles she knew too well as a child.
Years later, when the father of her six younger children went to prison, she saw firsthand how isolating and stigmatizing it is for kids to have an incarcerated parent and how hard it can be to stay focused in school when you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. The Venus Morris Griffin Foundation and its annual scholarship were her answer: a way to tell these students, “Your life is not defined by someone else’s choices, and there is a way out through education.”
Today, as a mother of seven, author, and speaker, Venus uses the foundation to give students the kind of belief and opportunity she wished more children in families like hers had.
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behind the scholarship
Growing up with a parent in prison is lonely, confusing, and often hidden in silence. The Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship was created to break that silence and to support students who are choosing to keep going, stay in school, and build a different future. Each year, the foundation awards scholarships to deserving high school seniors who show resilience, character, and a commitment to their education.
If this sounds like your story or the story of someone you love, please take the next step. Read the eligibility details and apply today.
Past recipients
Meet the students at the heart of the Venus Morris Griffin Foundation. Their achievements remind us why investing in education matters.
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![2025 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Recipient]()
2025 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Recipient
Journey Marsh
Richton Park, IL -
![2023 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Winner]()
2023 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Recipient
Jessee Latham
Gainesville, MO -
![2023 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship winner]()
2023 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Recipient
Korina McNutt
Sherwood, Oregon -
![2021 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Winner]()
2021 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Recipient
Justus Robertson
Canby, California -
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2020 Venus Morris Griffin Scholarship Recipient
Kimberly Mazurek
Augusta, GA
