Stand Together Foundation, The Phoenix commit to transforming 1 million lives out of addiction over the next five years

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Stand Together Foundation, The Phoenix commit to transforming 1 million lives out of addiction over the next five years

Partnership deepens, with up to $50 million in additional funding to battle against addiction nationwide and change how recovery happens in America.
January 25, 2020

This piece was previously published on the Stand Together Foundation website.

Palm Springs, CA, January 26, 2020 – Stand Together Foundation today announced a financial commitment of up to $50 million to support mass scale efforts for its partner The Phoenix to reach one million people by 2025. The Phoenix, a peer-to-peer addiction recovery program that leverages a sober-active lifestyle in building supportive communities, is looking to transform how the country thinks about and approaches the problem of substance use disorders – away from top-down efforts that see people as broken and deficient and towards a bottom-up approach of human resiliency. 

The Phoenix is a member of Stand Together Foundation's Catalyst Network, a select group of 167 top-performing nonprofits across the country capable of change at a societal level when it comes to breaking the cycle of poverty in America. 

"We know the power of community to change lives, and this massive partnership commitment will transform not just millions of lives, but will reshape how our country thinks about addiction," said Scott Strode, founder of The Phoenix. "Sure, it would be great if The Phoenix becomes a household name, but what would be better is having hope become a household belief through our partnership with Stand Together Foundation." 

Evan Feinberg, executive director of Stand Together Foundation added: "The Phoenix is an incredible organization, with great leadership and a transformative vision. With twice the success rates of the average treatment center, The Phoenix is demonstrating there's a better way to tackle addiction: tapping into human resiliency rather than treating people as broken and deficient. Stand Together Foundation is committed to helping The Phoenix reach as many people as possible, transforming lives and changing the narrative about addiction across the country." 

Stand Together is a proud supporter of Stand Together Foundation and the Phoenix. This effort is the largest fundraising priority for Stand Together Foundation at Stand Together's Winter Summit 2020, a gathering of more than 700 business leaders, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and nonprofit visionaries united in finding innovative solutions to the nation's most pressing problems. Stand Together Foundation is committed to raising $50 million, beginning at the weekend-long event, to support expansion of The Phoenix's recovery programs to 26 new cities by 2025, activating 2,500 leaders across the country to spur efforts. The expansion will grow its reach to serve one million people – roughly five percent of the overall population battling addiction. 

More than 23 million Americans struggle with a substance use disorder, yet only 10 percent have access to traditional treatment programs. Of those, 66 percent will relapse within the first year. The Phoenix harnesses the pursuit of mental, physical, and spiritual fitness to rebuild wounded bodies and spirits and restore hope – with the only price of admission being 48 hours clean and sober. 

The Phoenix is one of many social entrepreneur-led organizations whose impact Stand Together Foundation has helped grow. Since becoming a member of the Catalyst Network in 2017, The Phoenix has gone from serving 4,000 people annually across seven locations to serving 10,000 people each year across 45 cities to date, including the 2018 opening of its newest facility in Boston, where The Phoenix now has a partnership with the Boston Red Sox. 

About Stand Together Foundation: 

Stand Together Foundation is breaking the cycle of poverty by supporting the creative solutions of individuals and communities around the country. Our goal is to help effective, high-performing social entrepreneurs maximize impact—to help them help more—by bringing a business-like approach to the social sector. The result is a vetted Catalyst Network of some of the most highly effective and top-performing non-profits in the U.S. that are helping people in poverty transform their lives. Learn more at StandTogetherFoundation.org. 

About Stand Together: 

Stand Together empowers people dedicated to helping others improve their lives. Our philanthropic community tackles some of the biggest challenges of our times, including reforming the nation's criminal justice system, strengthening K-12 education, helping neighbors beat poverty and addiction, empowering everyone to find fulfilling work, and more. We can all make a greater difference by uniting together than by acting on our own. For more information visit, www.StandTogether.org. 

About the Phoenix: 

The Phoenix is a national nonprofit organization that fosters a sober active community for individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder that choose to live sober. The Phoenix offers activities to anyone with at least 48 hours of continuous sobriety and has served over 38,000 people across the country in the last 14 years. For more information or to donate, please visit www.ThePhoenix.org. 

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