Thanks to the generosity of compassionate individuals and corporations, the 10th Anniversary Champions for Children Gala was a great success. This year’s event honored two outstanding leaders in our community – Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. and Martin Eltrich – and broke the records in attendance and results!
This fun and festive occasion brought together 650+ guests who were longstanding partners and some new friends of the Jay Fund. We were overwhelmed as the final tally of collective generosity raised over $1.4 million dollars to help families tackling childhood cancer! This total was reached through heroic support of those taking tables, tickets, ads and making contributions, lively bidding during our silent and live auctions and enthusiastic support through our in-room pledge request, including a number of people who responded to stand up and BE THERE with $10,000 contributions in honor of our 10th anniversary of service to the NY/NJ area.
Perhaps the highlight of the evening came when Coach Coughlin shared some exciting news about the future of the Jay Fund in the New York/New Jersey area. Here’s what Coach had to say about his announcement:
“We are going to BE THERE for the NY/NJ area for more decades to come. I announced at the event the Jay Fund is launching a $10 million campaign to provide the resources as a cornerstone to our continued and expanded commitment to the community. The Jay Fund will BE THERE to help children and families with the immediate needs at diagnosis, throughout the months and years of treatment and in nurturing the children and families in survivorship to live their fullest lives and reach their greatest potential.”
It was a landmark night in so many ways, and signaled a turning point for the Jay Fund – a turning point toward a bigger, better, brighter future not only for the foundation, but for New York/New Jersey metro area families tackling childhood cancer. In case you missed the 10th Annual Champions for Children Gala, check out the photos and make your own championship pledge now.