Casey Duffy, a 28-year-old war widow from Brick, N.J., is going to college so she can better provide for her 3-year-old son.
Financial aid will not cover all of her education expenses, though, so the New Jersey League of Community Bankers has stepped in to help. The league recently established a scholarship fund to benefit the families of soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, and Ms. Duffy was the first recipient.
"All of the service personnel put themselves in harm's way for our country," said Robert E. Stillwell, the New Jersey banker who suggested that the league start the fund. "We want to let people know we haven't forgotten, nor will we ever forget, their ultimate sacrifice."
Mr. Stillwell, the president and chief executive officer of the $1.1 billion-asset Boiling Springs Savings Bank in Rutherford, said he got the idea last year after seeing news reports about the deaths of some U.S. soldiers
"I was just thinking about the plight of the dependents back home here," he said. "I thought, 'I wish we could do something,' and then I thought, 'Maybe we can.' "
The league's other members liked the scholarship idea so much that they organized a foundation last year to raise and distribute the money.
The New Jersey Community Bankers Education Foundation Inc. has raised $242,000 so far, said James Silkensen, the league's president. The contributions come mainly from trade group members and their employees.
"We're looking primarily to the industry for support," Mr. Silkensen said.
Mr. Stillwell and Mr. Silkensen said the fund-raising effort is continuing, with no specific goal set. The intent is to keep the fund going for many years, they said, so that perhaps even Ms. Duffy's son could benefit. "We want that fund to be there for the young children when they are college age," Mr. Silkensen said.
The fallen soldiers must have a New Jersey connection - such as being stationed in the state - for their dependents to be eligible for a scholarship.
The scholarships can be used for any type of education, including vocational or technical training. They can be renewed annually, so long as the student maintains grades the equivalent of a "C" or better.
Ms. Duffy is a full-time student at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J., where she is majoring in elementary education. She expects to graduate in June 2008.
Mr. Stillwell said the scholarship she received - $2,250 for the fall semester - would pay for her books and the part of her tuition that is not covered by other aid. The amount is expected to be about the same for the spring semester. Mr. Stillwell said he hopes she will apply for a scholarship to help with the next school year, too.
The league announced last month at a press conference covered by several newspapers that Ms. Duffy was its first scholarship recipient.
Mr. Silkensen said he hopes the attention will stimulate scholarship applications.
The league is working to generate publicity in other ways as well. The state's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is helping inform potential recipients about the scholarship money - which is how Ms. Duffy found out.
Some league members, including Boiling Springs Savings, also ran a newspaper ad around Veterans Day that mentioned the foundation and the availability of scholarships.
Mr. Stillwell, the chairman of the education foundation's board of trustees, said more than 70 soldiers with a New Jersey connection have died in the war.
He said news accounts indicated that Ms. Duffy's husband, Army Specialist Christopher M. Duffy, 26, of Brick, was the first New Jersey National Guardsman killed in Iraq. Mr. Duffy, a military policeman, died in June 2004 when his convoy was ambushed. He had been called to active duty six months earlier.
