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This past Friday, former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin returned to MetLife Stadium. He wasn’t there on any team-related business but rather, Coughlin arrived to host a Jay Fund Foundation charity event.
It was the first time Coughlin was able to attend the annual Sundae Blitz in several years. It was a bittersweet moment after losing his wife, Judy, on November 2. He had become her full-time caregiver after she was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy.
“When you spend four or five years and your routine is all around your better half and all of a sudden that stops, it’s tough,” Coughlin told Bob Glauber of Newsday. “I used to be very busy between 6 and 8 p.m., because we would get the meal ready, we would clean up and put her to bed. I’m sitting there now and saying, ‘What do I do?’ But I want to be busy. I want to be active. If I can be involved in this and I can see the benefits of helping the families, certainly that helps.”
Judy was a regular at Jay Fund events. She loved to help families in need and never once sought any notoriety for it. Coughlin is very much the same in that regard.
“Everything is about the kids,” Coughlin said. “That’s what makes life worthwhile, and when a parent comes up to you, takes you aside and tells you what you’ve meant to them and their child is standing right now to them and still fighting . . . It’s not about me, but I’ll tell you what it’s about. It’s about compassion and helping others when they need it.”
There were 250 attendees spanning 60 families at Friday’s Sundae Blitz. In addition to Coughlin, several Giants legends also attended. Among them were Chris Snee, Harry Carson, David Tyree and Kevin Boothe. Recently signed defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson also made it a point to stop in after the Giants had concluded practice for the day.
“This is what puts life in perspective,” Coughlin said. “You win a Super Bowl, then you visit a hospital, you see the parents who stay there overnight, you see the sick child, you know what they’re going through, you know their lives are completely disrupted and nothing is normal anymore. You realize these are people that need help, and in many cases they have no place to turn. We’ll put a roof over their heads, food on their table, pay their electric bill, transport them back and forth to the hospital. We’re going to be there when nobody else is there.”
Coughlin and the Jay Fund have never failed in their mission. Since being founded in 1996, they have distributed more than $20 million to upwards of 6,000 families in need.
On October 13, the Jay Fund will hold their next event — the Champions for Children Gala, which will also be held at MetLife Stadium. Giants head coach Brian Daboll will be among the honorees.
Information on how to attend the event can be requested at the official Jay Fund Foundation website. Donations can also be made by clicking here.
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