WALK FOR KENZIE

Amid the sea of pink, purple and teal, there was a message: Kenzie Leonardo was loved.

While family and friends already knew that, there were plenty of strangers who learned all about the 11-year-old last weekend as they helped turn grief into hope at A Walk for Kenzie Mae.

She would have turned 12 on June 20^th – the perfect day to celebrate her life by supporting youth mental health awareness and prevention efforts.

Kenzie died by suicide in October 2025; she was a sixth-grader at NRHEG Schools.

When organizers first pitched the idea of a walk in her honor, their sights were set on drawing about 200 people. Nearly 500 people showed up at St. Olaf Lake near New Richland for the walk.

“We certainly crushed this one,” said Jason Lennox, who grew up in Owatonna and lived for a time in New Richland – but didn’t know Kenzie.

His own experiences with addiction and trauma prompted him to create the nonprofit, One Arrow Foundation, which he uses to support all manner of behavioral health care and to remove the stigma associated with topics like addiction and suicide.

In fact, it was Kenzie’s death that convinced him that youth mental health needed to be the center of his next fundraising campaign: The Recovery Road.

Lennox is planning a 1,776-mile walk around Minnesota, starting June 29 in Stillwater and ending there Oct. 10 – World Mental Health Day.

The proceeds from Saturday’s event will be donated to The Recovery Road.

“We didn’t set a goal,” Lennox said Sunday, “but I anticipated around $10,000 with such short notice.”

They hit almost $17,000.

Lennox had hoped to honor Kenzie on Sept. 12, when his cross-state walk will reach Owatonna.

Jannell Tufte, of New Richland, was hoping for July 4 at St. Olaf Lake.

“She quickly pulled Auntie Rachael (Eustice) into the mix as the go-between for the family, to take the pressure off them,” Lennox said. “Rachael pulled her daughter into the conversation and that was the early formation of the team.”

Kenzie’s parents, Keith and Melisa Leonardo, chose her birthday for the date.

The team got to work, securing vendors for signs, foods, supplies, shirts and more. A few weeks later, it all paid off.

“I think primarily you're seeing the result of a small community coming together to support a beautiful family,” Lennox said of the success of the event.

Collaborating with the efforts of The Recovery Road/One Arrow Foundation brought an added level of visibility and exposure outside the community, he said, as well as an opportunity for a charitable contribution path with the foundation.

Either way, “the reason is the same: People show up and support when they are presented with a need and a clear way to support,” Lennox said.

“While the plan may have been initially thought of by our small group, we truly couldn't have pulled it off without those that stepped up and asked, ‘what can we do, where do you need us, how can we help?’” Tufte said. “This NRHEG family truly steps up when needed.”

There was another message, shared on signs and T-shirts: Keep talking, keep walking.

“This is about conversation,” Lennox said. He received a message Sunday morning from Keith Leonardo.

“He said he has had so many people thank him already, and they've told him they've sat down and talked with their kids,” Lennox said. “They've shared they would not have done so if not for Kenzie's story being shared.”

Less than 24 hours after the walk ended, Kenzie’s dad announced the second annual event next year.

“He doesn’t know how we will top it, but we’re up for the challenge,” Lennox said.