The family of a Scottish student who was knocked down and killed during an exchange trip to the US have set up a charity in her memory to help disadvantaged school pupils.

Lisa Moran, 20, from Paisley, Renfrewshire, was run over by a bus while out jogging near the University of North Carolina campus in May 2008.

She was on a six-month exchange as part of her third-year studies for a law and business degree at Glasgow University at the time of the tragic accident.

Her parents, Carolyn and Fraser, have held a memorial mass for friends and family each year since and have now established a charity in the hope of providing other young people the same opportunities that their daughter made full use of.

Called Lisa's Gift, it has been set up to help disadvantaged children take part in school trips and clubs that they may otherwise be unable to afford.

Mr Moran said: "Previously we held a memorial mass each year because you're anxious that people remember Lisa, but you can only do that for so long, and Carolyn in particular was wanting to do something proactive in Lisa's memory that could be of practical benefit to other people, and that's where the idea of the charity came up.

"Lisa and her friends were always at the forefront of helping charitable causes and she played a big part in school and university life, so we thought it was a nice idea that her memory could be kept in peoples' minds through a positive contribution.

"She was good at giving her time to other people, she was concerned and interested in other people and so the idea of the gift is trying to give something back in her memory."

Both Mr and Mrs Moran have been teachers during their careers and know how some pupils can sometimes be left behind .

"We were conscious of the fact that the people who tend to be overlooked at times are the people coming from circumstances where the present economic climate have led to difficult situations for their families," Mr Moran said.

"As a result of that they suffer and miss out on opportunities to take part in many extra-curricular activities in schools, or they might suffer by not having adequate PE kit or other resources needed to perform well.

"It might at first not seem that important but having spoken to friends who are teachers they agreed that it was an area that needs to be addressed.

"We would like headteachers to approach Lisa's Gift and if we think it's appropriate, and I'm sure we would, we would offer the money to the school and it could be done as discreetly as required to help hard-working, struggling pupils who might otherwise miss out on trips abroad with their friends because of cost."

The first school that could benefit from the charity is likely to be Lisa's fomer high school, St Andrew's Academy in Paisley.

Lisa acheived six A-grades in her Higher exams and remains a Dux at the school.

She was also keen on sport, having been a ski instructor, and hoped to pursue a career in law, possibly back in the US, once she completed her studies in Glasgow.

Mr Moran said: "We don't want to spread the net too wide too soon because it started from nowhere, so we've had an initial meeting with St Andrew's Academy in Paisley and hopefully they and other schools in the area will be the first to benefit from it.

"That's the plan initially but if it proves successful and effective, and we can continue to raise funds, then it may be possible to spread it wider to other schools because we will always judge each case on its merits.

"The financial assistance that we offer won't be massive but it should be enough to allow the sort of opportunities that a school is looking to provide for some pupils."

Thousands of pounds has already been raised and a charity committee has been formed to plan further events in the new year.

A website is also being created with the charity currently using a Facebook page to update people, although Mr Moran joked that he leaves that to "people more technically minded".

He added: "With our family and friends, and with Lisa's friends, who still do so much, we thought we could get the support for the charity and, happily, through the first couple of events that has proved to be the case.

"We hope that the events we put on encourage people to come back because we don't want people to be just putting their hands in their pockets, we don't want to be asking them for money without giving them something in return.

"The more we can do that the more the profile of the charity will rise and then a sideline from that, which has already started, is that we have people approaching us saying 'I'm going to be doing a run or an ultra marathon and I'd like to raise money on behalf of the charity'.

"That's been fantastic and hopefully all these things can run in tandem."