The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation will host its annual Champions for Children Gala on Wednesday at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers, gathering athletes, celebrities, business leaders, and longtime supporters to raise money for New York and New Jersey families facing childhood cancer.
The night comes in the foundation’s 31st year. Former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and his late wife, Judy, started the Jay Fund in 1996 in memory of Jay McGillis, the Boston College player who wore No. 31 and died of leukemia on July 3, 1992.
Coughlin had seen the financial and emotional strain on the McGillis family during Jay’s illness and, with the family’s blessing, built an organization meant to be there for other parents after a childhood cancer diagnosis.
This year’s honorees are Lawrence Inserra, chairman and CEO of Inserra Supermarkets; Mike McGillis, vice chairman of Mack Real Estate Group; and Allison Stangeby, vice president of community and corporate relations for the New York Giants.
McGillis, Jay’s brother, also serves on the Jay Fund board. Stangeby has long tied Giants resources to the foundation’s work, including family visits to training camp and support for the New York gala.
Cocktails and a silent auction run from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a program in which Coughlin will share the stage with New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown for a conversation on coaching, leadership, and what it means to be there for others. An after-party dessert reception follows. Dress is business or favorite football team attire.
Last year’s gala, also at Pier Sixty, raised $1.3 million.
The Jay Fund’s mission remains financial, emotional, and practical support, covering needs such as housing, utilities, transportation, and everyday expenses so parents can stay focused on a child in treatment.
Blue-carpet interviews and photos are available from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Dinner is closed to the press.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Jay Fund Foundation to host annual Champions for Children Gala on Oct. 7
