SYRACUSE -- The story of Luke Cain has resonated among Syracuse University alumni across the nation, especially among former athletes. Now there’s a way you can help too.
Last Monday, CNY Central’s Jim Kenyon revealed that Cain, a former standout linebacker with the Orange football team from 2004 through 2006, was homeless and panhandling for money at the corner of Jefferson and Warren Streets in downtown Syracuse.
Literally overnight, Orange alumni were coming out of the woodwork to help Cain. Some feel Cain may have suffered a brain injury while playing at SU, which may have put him on a path to being homeless with possible mental illness.
Among those trying to help Cain is Jim Jerome, who played football at Syracuse University in 1976.
"We're all he's got, think about it, there's nobody at home. We're it," Jerome told Kenyon.
Jerome is the head of the Syracuse Football Club, a society of former Orange players.
"I’m getting calls and letters and checks from women's tennis, track and field, strength coaches who worked with Luke. It's just amazing. You can't understand unless you went on the battlefield with us, what this bond is all about," says Jerome.
Since the Syracuse Football Club is a registered not for profit foundation, Jerome has established a fund within the organization. He says people can donate at the below address or by calling the club at: 315-884-4444.
Luke Cain Fund
c/o Syracuse Football Club
Post Office Box 15009
Syracuse, NY 13215-0009
