Jeremy Kane remembered during annual run in Cherry Hill
Gone, but not forgotten.
That was the shared sentiment felt last week on the grounds of Cherry Hill High School East, prior to the start of the third annual Jeremy Kane 5K Benefit Run.
More than 300 family, friends, neighbors and members of the community participated in the 3.1-mile run in honor of Jeremy Kane, who was killed by a suicide bomb attack while on patrol in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan in January 2010.
Money raised from the event benefits the Jeremy Kane Scholarship Fund, which supports student veterans at Rutgers University-Camden, where Jeremy was enrolled as a criminal justice major.
Councilwoman Melinda Kane, Jeremy’s mother, said the amount for the scholarship will top $50,000. The first scholarship will be awarded next year. Rutgers-Camden students have also held other fundraisers throughout the year.
Kane said she is proud of the work the community has done to pull together scholarship money. She also thanked the Jewish War Veterans, the township and school district, along with the American Legion.
She said many students like Jeremy who have served in the military, would have benefited greatly from college scholarship funding.
“Jeremy never received any assistance toward his college education. Despite training every summer and one weekend a month, that did not make him eligible for benefits,” Kane said. “Had he not been killed in combat and if he returned to Rutgers, he would have only been eligible for 50 percent of the GI Bill benefits since he was a reservist.”
The yearly event continues to bring in hundreds of supporters from near and far, as well as guest speakers and local dignitaries.
Kane spoke at the event in remembrance of her son. But it was the words of someone else that day that really stuck with her.
“(He) summed it up best when he said, ‘When a person dies, they are ceremoniously laid to rest and hopefully their memory lives on. When a hero who laid their life on the line to protect your family dies, one ceremony will simply not do. We gather, we run and we walk to celebrate the freedom men like Jeremy have bestowed upon us. Many have died for this freedom, but Jeremy was ours. We honor Jeremy by using the last gift he has given us all, the freedom to appreciate it.’ Pretty powerful words,” Kane said.
