In January 2025, Rye scouting unexpectedly lost one of its most enthusiastic and dedicated parents and adult leaders: Hugh O’Reilly.

Thanks to the tremendous generosity of Hugh’s family and countless friends, Friends of Rye Scouting has endowed a scholarship fund which provides financial aid to any Rye scouts and their families for whom the cost of scouting would be a barrier to their participation.

We hope to continue to grow the endowment of the Fund over time — to ensure its perpetuity, provide more extensive support for needy scouts (e.g., summer camp) and perhaps even begin to offer scholarships to other nearby communities and their scouting units (e.g., Port Chester).

As such, we would warmly welcome additional, tax deductible gifts, in the memory of the generous spirit of Hugh — a “scout gone home” too soon.

Hugh E. O’Reilly Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund