NFL FILMS’ STEVE SABOL TO BE HONORED AT 7TH TOM COUGHLIN JAY FUND CHARITY GALA

Fri., Oct. 28th event at Cipriani also honoring Timothy H. Shinn; Coughlin, Giants players, auction highlight benefit for kids with cancer

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New York, NY (August 31, 2011) – Legendary filmmaker Steve Sabol will be recognized for his philanthropic work on behalf of children as New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin hosts the seventh annual “Champions For Children” Gala on Friday, October 28, at Cipirani in midtown Manhattan.

All proceeds from the event benefit the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, which provides financial and emotional assistance to families of children with cancer.

Each year, the gala raises over $500,000 to help families from the New York City area cope with emergency household expenses, funeral costs, gas and food vouchers and hospital/ clinic services that enable them to deal with the emotional and physical adversity of childhood cancer.

The “Champions for Children” gala is open to the public. For information about tickets, corporate tables and sponsorships, call 212-627-1000 or email jayfund@resevt.com. Details can be found at www.tcjayfund.org.

Scores of current and former New York Giants are expected to attend the event, which has raised over $5.5 million since its inception in 2005. Player/celebrity commitments will be announced in the coming weeks along with major donations to the auction.

Mr. Sabol, President of NFL Films, heads the New Jersey-based media company founded by his father, Ed Sabol, who was inducted earlier this month into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH.
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A graduate of Colorado College where he played football, Steve Sabol began working in the video industry as a cameraman when his father got the rights to the 1962 NFL Championship game. That company eventually grew into NFL Films, headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ, where Mr. Sabol developed his unparalleled production expertise. When ESPN was founded, NFL Films was engaged to provide content as a production company and Mr. Sabol became an on-air personality, working for a host of media outlets over the years. He has won 27 Emmy Awards and also played a part in founding NFL Network. His voice can be heard in the Madden NFL ‘06 and ‘07 video games and his voice and likeness appear in the NFL Head Coach game. Earlier this year, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and has endured chemotherapy and radiation but still presented his father for enshrinement into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 4.

Mr. Timothy H. Shinn will also be recognized for his philanthropy and his professional and civic accomplishments. He is President and CEO of United Crane Rentals of Kenilworth, NJ, which was founded in 1937 by his father, Edward Shinn Jr., and grandfather, Edward T. Shinn. The younger Mr. Shinn invented, patented and manufactured his own design of truck-mounted hoists, which became known as “jiffy hoists.” For many years, these machines could be seen on the jobsites of nearly every leading contractor in the Tri-State (NY, NJ, CT) area. Mr. Shinn has been involved in the business for the past 35 years. He learned all aspects of the crane rental business by spending the first seventeen years of his career in the field as an equipment operator, followed by seven years as the company’s treasurer and general manager.

The Champions for Children Gala will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. with a red carpet cocktail party and silent auction, followed by a formal sit-down dinner and live auction. WNBC-TV Sports anchor Bruce Beck will serve as master of ceremonies.

Following the “Champions For Children” Gala, the Giants will take on the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands on Sunday, October 30. The season opener is September 11 at Washington’s FedEx Field against the Redskins.

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About The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund
Founded in 1996, The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation was created in the honor of Jay McGillis, a member of the Boston College Football team who developed leukemia while a member of the team. Then-Boston College head coach Tom Coughlin was inspired by the courage, compassion and faith he and his family demonstrated during the course of his illness. It is the mission of The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation to assist children with leukemia and other cancers and their families by providing emotional and financial support to help improve the children’s quality of life and to help reduce the family stress associated with going through this crisis. This allows the families to focus on what matters most – the health of the child.

The Jay Fund distributed over $500,000 in grants last year alone. Area non-profit partners are Friends of Karen, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center , NYU Langone Medical Center and The Valerie Fund .

CONTACTS:

Steve Griffith, Vizion Group PR, 484 433 7757
sgriffith@viziongroup.net

John Totaro, Totaro Communications, 917 859 4873
jtotaro@totarocommunications.com

Tom Cosentino, iMedia Public Relations, 609 514 2643
tcosentino@innovativemediapr.com