The Bright Futures Fund Announces Launch of Memorial Scholarship to Honor Fallen Kansas City Firefighters John V. Mesh & Larry Leggio

Kansas City, Mo.-  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

​These words from John Chapter 15:13 articulate beautifully the sacrifice that Kansas City Firefighters Larry Leggio and John Mesh made on that fateful night of October 12, 2015 while serving their community and saving lives.
 
The brave men both grew up in the Historic Northeast neighborhood and dedicated their lives to the safety of its residents by serving the community KCFD Station #23.  
 
John Mesh, a Catholic in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph attended Holy Cross Catholic School and St. Mary’s Catholic High School.  Larry Leggio was also a Catholic in the Diocese and a parishioner at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.
 
Therefore it is with great humility and honor that the Board of Directors of the Bright Futures Fund announces the creation of the John V. Mesh KCFD Memorial Scholarship and the Larry Leggio KCFD Memorial Scholarship. 
 
These annual scholarships will be awarded to two students at Holy Cross School in honor of John and Larry, and will help ensure that students who otherwise would not be able to receive a high-quality Catholic education are able to do so. 
 
The Bright Futures Fund, an independent 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization that works in partnership with 6 Catholic Elementary Schools a 3 Diocesan High Schools in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, provides scholarship support to students and families in need.  Their work provides over 750 annual scholarships to assist families with multiple children in Catholic School and to help eradicate poverty through education and to provide students with opportunities to become life long learners and responsible citizens in their communities.  The Board could think of no better way to honor the incredible heroic actions of John Mesh and Larry Leggio than to provide opportunities to children and families in need in the community that these two exemplary men loved.
 
“These scholarships are but a small gesture compared to the bravery and dedication that John Mesh and Larry Leggio demonstrated on a daily basis, but it is our hope that they will help serve as a reminder to their incredible legacy in our city and the countless lives that their service impacted, including those at Holy Cross School,” said Jeremy Lillig, managing director of the Bright Futures Fund.