Ryan E. Bishop Outdoor Leadership Fund awards scholarship grant to Kismet Rock Foundation
North Conway, NH – January 2, 2012 – The Ryan E. Bishop Outdoor Leadership Fund recently awarded $7,940 to Kismet Rock Foundation’s (Kismet) summer scholarship program. Thanks to the generosity of the Ryan E. Bishop Outdoor Leadership Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Kismet will be able to offer four four-year climbing scholarships to deserving students from New Hampshire beginning in the summer of 2012.
Chris and Jeannie Bishop, and their son Christopher, started the Ryan E. Bishop Outdoor Leadership Fund to honor the memory of their son and brother, Ryan E. Bishop. Twenty-one-year-old Ryan died tragically during a canoeing trip in southern Utah in late April while saving a friend’s life. During the summer and fall of 2011, his family created two funds to ensure that Ryan’s passion for life and his love of the great outdoors will live on: The Ryan E. Bishop Outdoor Leadership Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Westminster College Scholarship Fund in Salt Lake City. The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation offered a generous 10 percent matching grant to the contributions made in memory of Ryan during the summer.
“Kismet Rock Foundation is honored to be the first Ryan E. Bishop Outdoor Leadership Fund scholarship recipient,” says Brian Post, Kismet Board Chairperson. “This scholarship will be instrumental in allowing several Kismet students to experience the outdoors through the unique perspective that climbing offers. We send our sincerest gratitude to the Ryan E. Bishop Outdoor Leadership Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation for helping Kismet to transform the lives of underserved youth through an education in technical climbing.”
The organization serves students who might not otherwise have an opportunity such as the one Kismet offers. By developing their potential, Kismet prepares students to contribute to their communities and their culture throughout their lives.
Kismet currently serves seven public schools in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, offering students one week of climbing instruction per summer for four summers. The summer season will begin in July 2012.
For more information about Kismet Rock Foundation, please visit www.kismetrockfoundation.org. For more information about Ryan Bishop and efforts to honor his memory, please visit the Explore for Bishop website, set to launch in 2012 at www.ExploreForBishop.com.