Jay Fund Foundation reaches major goal in 8th year
New York, NY (October 17, 2012) – For the first time in its eight-year history, the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund’s “Champions for Children Gala” broke the million dollar mark in fundraising Friday evening at Cipriani in New York City, taking in a total of $1,007,000.
“Friday night was a wonderful and record-setting event for the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund,” said Keli Coughlin Joyce, the non-profit’s Executive Director. “The room was filled with enthusiastic supporters who expressed their commitment to children and their families touched by cancer. The energy was heartwarming and we are truly overjoyed to have reached this milestone in our fundraising efforts.”
The monies raised enable the Jay Fund to help families from the New York City area with emergency household expenses, funeral costs, gas and food necessities and hospital/clinic services as they deal with the emotional and physical adversity of childhood cancer. New York-area non-profit partners of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund are Friends of Karen, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, Overlook Hospital, St. Joe’s Hospital and The Valerie Fund.
The Jay Fund Foundation used the occasion to introduce its new slogan – “Be There” – and new logo, a child wearing the #31 jersey of former Boston College safety Jay McGillis, whose battle with leukemia inspired Coughlin, then his head coach, to launch the non-profit.
“Our goal is to ‘Be There’ for parents, with emotional and financial support, so they can ‘Be There’ for their families,” said Coach Coughlin about the organization’s new brand identity. “Financial uncertainty does not need to be another stress for moms and dads in this situation and we are here to help.”
Quarterback Eli Manning was one of more than 30 active players on hand to support the event by hosting tables, meeting fans and doing media interviews on the red carpet. David Diehl, Prince Amukamara, Corey Webster, Mark Herzlich, Chris Snee, Domenik Hixon, David Wilson and Rueben Randle were also on hand as attending fans gave the team a sendoff to San Francisco, where the Giants chalked up a 26-3 victory at Candlestick Park Sunday afternoon.
Renowned television and sports executive Dick Ebersol and Curtis Arledge, CEO, Bank of New York Mellon Investment Management, were introduced by Coughlin and accepted awards for their civic leadership and community service contributions. WNBC-TV Sports Director Bruce Beck served as Master of Ceremonies and among the speakers aiding the fundraising efforts was HBO and NBC Sports TV personality Andrea Kremer. Among the other celebrities in attendance were Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twin brother internet entrepreneurs of Google fame who competed in men’s pairs rowing for the U.S. at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Since the launch of the annual Champions for Children Gala in 2005, the Giants are undefeated in that weekend’s game. The yearly results follow:
ANNUAL RESULTS
Gala Date Game Date Result
9/16/05 9/19/05 NYG 27, Saints 10
9/15/06 9/17/06 NYG 30, Eagles 24
9/28/07 9/30/07 NYG 16, Eagles 3
9/12/08 9/14/08 NYG 41, Rams 13
10/2/09 10/4/09 NYG 27, Chiefs 16
10/1/10 10/3/10 NYG 17, Bears 13
10/28/11 10/30/11 NYG 20, Dolphins 17
10/12/12 10/14/12 NYG 26, 49ers 3