The second annual fundraiser for the Ashley Soule’ Conroy Foundation will be held Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the auditorium of St. Martin’s Episcopal School, 5309 Airline Drive, Metairie.

“Last year we had our first exhibition of artwork by Ashley,” said Stephen Conroy, Ashley’s father.  “The fundraiser was a huge success, raising $15,000 before, during and after the event to help support our growing public charitable foundation.

“In fact, because of the generous donations, including matching gifts, we received from so many family members and friends both at the fundraiser and throughout the year, we were able to provide two scholarships for study abroad this year.”

In 2005, when she was a junior at the College of Charleston, Ashley spent her second semester abroad in a three-month program called “From Brahma to Buddha: Cultures of the Indian Himalayas and the Ganges River.”  Her family said she wanted to learn from the traditions and spiritual beliefs in India, something for which she had a deep passion.  But on March 11, 2006, Ashley fell to her death from a roof-top meditation site at a Buddhist retreat center.  She was 21.

The family set up the Ashley Soule’ Conroy Foundation, a nonprofit foundation to provide scholarships to qualified students who wish to study abroad based on their financial needs and other factors.

The first scholarship recipient, Conroy said, is Jocelyn Aquino, an anthropology student at University of California.  Aquino studied last summer in Japan.

The second scholarship recipient is Melissa Henry, a fine arts major at Brown University.  She is studying abroad this fall at the Aegean Center for Fine Arts in Italy and Greece, Conroy said.

“This year, we will be displaying enlarged photographs that Ashley took while she was in India,” Conroy added.  “These pictures are truly amazing and give us insight as to what exotic and enriching experiences Ashley was having while studying abroad.”

Admission is free to Friday’s event which includes food and refreshments.  For information about the foundation or to make a donation, go to the Web site www.ashleysfoundation.org

*******

Eva Jacob Barkoff can be reached at ebarkoff@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7601.