The financial burden created when a child is hospitalized or requires home care, combined with medical expenses, can become overwhelming for parents.
Jay Fund grants pay for such things as mortgages, rent, car, electric, water, phone, food and other household expense payments during a time of crisis.
[6] The Jay Fund offers once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that simply make a child's life brighter and create happy memories.
These events include Valentine's Day parties, Remembrance Weekend, NY Giants Tour and Sundae Blitz, Fall Festival and more.
McGillis died on July 3, 1992, but his indomitable spirit, courage and compassion inspired Coughlin to create an organization to assist families with a child suffering from leukemia.
[7] After he was hired as head coach of the New York Giants, Coughlin allayed those fears by pledging continued support for the fund and promising to keep the foundation in Jacksonville.
Keli Coughlin, executive director of the foundation, who happens to be Tom's oldest child, stated:[7] This campaign for the endowment is an insurance policy of sorts.
By 2009, The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Wine Tasting Gala, according to the Florida Times-Union, was "considered among the best of its kind in the Jacksonville area".
The Champions for Children Gala, first put on in 2005, features a star-studded guest list, incredible live and silent auction items and experiences, and has become the biggest annual fundraiser for the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund.
Since its inception, the Champions for Children Gala has raised in excess of $7 million to support families tackling childhood cancer in the New York/New Jersey area.