Rhode Island Foundation to administer Hope High Bill Reynolds Endowed Scholarship
PROVIDENCE — Bill Reynolds was known for his shooting touch as a player, but his ability to deliver a personal assist off the basketball court defined his later years.
The nonprofit scholarship fund he helped support for Hope High School students raised more than $450,000 after its 2011 founding. His passing in July sparked fresh donations to that cause, an outpouring that prompted the Rhode Island Foundation to lend a hand of its own.
Saturday night saw a formal announcement in an upstairs suite at Brown University's Pizzitola Center. The foundation will administer an annual Hope High Bill Reynolds Endowed Scholarship on his behalf, an initiative that will add to the more than 100 students who have received aid through that previous charitable work. The link between Hope and the foundation was proposed by Reynolds' longtime partner, Liz Abbott.
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“Personally, I can’t think of a better way to honor him than with this scholarship,” Abbott said. “He’d be thrilled to think that people were helping these kids.”
Reynolds spent a boys basketball season with the Blue Wave in the early 2010s and chronicled the journey in a 2016 book titled, "Hope: A School, A Team, A Dream." It was one of 12 he authored during his career, and that was in addition to the better part of four decades Reynolds spent as a columnist with The Providence Journal.
“It was actually Liz who came to us, because she knows the people who are involved with these scholarships,” said Bruce Keeler, the foundation’s senior philanthropic adviser. “It just made perfect sense for us to have an additional scholarship in Bill’s memory, especially since he was embedded with the Hope High School basketball team for his book — it just made a lot of sense.”
Reynolds was a standout player at Barrington High School, Worcester Academy and Brown University before returning to the sporting arena through his media career. The Bears were a personal favorite — Reynolds was a fixture at Brown men’s games and a close friend of longtime radio analyst Russ Tyler. Bears coach Mike Martin described Reynolds as “an incredible supporter” and “a former great player” at Brown.
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Reynolds devoted a significant portion of his writing to introducing athletes from inner cities. His most famous work, "Fall River Dreams: A Team’s Quest for Glory, A Town’s Search for Its Soul," was a New York Times bestseller and the inspiration for the ESPN documentary, "Unguarded."
The original fund, Hope High Dollars for Scholars, was created and administered by a handful of alums. Reynolds lived just a short walk from the high school during part of his undergraduate days with the Bears. Hope's current main building was completed in 1936 but the East Side school opened in 1898.
The foundation was established in 1916 and has served a number of causes over the last century. Its current philanthropic portfolio includes available scholarships in nursing, textiles, the arts, teaching, foreign languages, public service, marine trades and child care.
Visit rifoundation.org/billreynolds for more information.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island Foundation to administer Hope High Bill Reynolds Endowed Scholarship
