The Jason Somerville Trust was started in 1972 and is available to Bethlehem, New Hampshire residents who live in town and attend Profile School all four years of high school. The scholarships are awarded each year.
The Somerville Trust was created by long time Bethlehem resident, Jason Somerville. Jason loved Bethlehem, saved his money, invested wisely and then shared his wealth with Bethlehem.
As a young man, his father gave him $1,000 to invest in Kodak stock. Through shrewd investments, Jason built on his modest beginning until at the time of his death it had grown to $1,160,000. The original trust was set up in 1954.
Over the years, Somerville gave the town he loved a donation of a fire truck and ambulance. These contributions were all made without fanfare, as were all of his financial gifts. Read more about Jason Somerville.
Before he passed away in 1974, he set up a scholarship trust using the dividends from his stock portfolio that he saved all his life with these specifications:
This endowment will be divided among the graduates of the high school equally, but Mr. Somerville specifies that they shall be children of residents of Bethlehem. The students' parents must have resided in Bethlehem throughout the four years of their child's high school education. See all Scholarship Requirements here.
Under Somerville's will, Malcolm Stevenson, well-known proprietor of MacEddie's Restaurant, was appointed administrator of the scholarship trust. The Stevenson family continues to successfully manage this program today with Scott and Marie Stevenson administering the trust and providing scholarships to Bethlehem students.