Jeremy Kane 5K Continues to Build Scholarships for Veterans

Jeremy Kane may be gone, but his legacy—helping fellow veterans earn their college degrees—was evident at the fourth annual 5K in his memory at Cherry Hill East Sunday.

The scholarship in his name, funded in part by the annual race, will go to help veterans like fellow Marine Vincent Leonetti, who enrolled at Rutgers-Camden after serving his tour of duty.

“After four years of being a grunt…I wasn’t sure if I could make it in school,” he said. “When I came to Rutgers, I immediately found people that were willing to take me under their wing. I couldn’t have done it without the support of the student vets.”

Leonetti and his fellow student veterans got some good news—before runners had even toed the line Sunday, officials announced the scholarship fund stood at more than $60,000, not including what the race took in, meaning there’ll be a permanent scholarship in the Marine’s name at Rutgers-Camden.

It’s one way of giving back to men and women who sacrifice so much, said Jeremy’s mother, Melinda Kane.

“People have this misconception that if you were in the military, you have the GI Bill and your education’s paid for… but the GI Bill doesn’t cover all your expenses,” she said. “Whatever money can be given to [veterans] to help them in their education, they deserve it—they deserve it 100 percent.”

And for Melinda Kane, the race, which featured more than 100 runners and about the same number of walkers, is another way her son lives on in the community, even for those who never met him when he was alive.

“It gets a little bigger and bigger every year,” she said. “Each one of them carries on and it just spreads more of what he was, and what men in the service are and what they stand for.”