Celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day with St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital

National Cancers Survivors Day was celebrated nationwide this year on Sunday, June 7^th. Normally, every year, hundreds of patients and families treated at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s Valerie Fund Children’s Center for Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders would gather for a celebration of our survivors sponsored by the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation.

 The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Tom Coughlin in honor of a player he coached at Boston College, Jay McGilis. Jay tragically lost his battle to leukemia and from then on, the Coughlin family was committed to finding a way to be there for families with children battling cancer.

The Jay Fund has continually supported St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital since 2012. This year, the Jay Fund generously awarded a grant of$60,000 to the Emergency Household Expenses Fund which provides financial assistance to families of pediatric cancer patients for everyday necessities like rent, utilities, and groceries—easing the financial burden our families face and enabling them to focus on their most important priority: supporting their child through cancer treatment and providing comfort during a difficult time.

Although we were not able to gather this year for our usual Cancer Survivors Day Celebration, with face painting, games, food, and fun, the Jay Fund graciously allowed St. Joseph’s to reallocate $10,000 in additional funding, originally slated for the Cancer Survivors Day event, to the Emergency Household Expenses Fund—bringing this year’s total amount of available emergency household assistance funding to $70,000.

St. Joseph’s Health Foundation coordinated this video message from our pediatric patients to not only thank the Jay Fund for their ongoing support, but to honor and celebrate their triumph over cancer!

We thank the Jay Fund and our St. Joseph’s family for continuing to be there throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It is through the support of individuals and foundations such as the Jay Fund that St. Joseph’s is able to provide exceptional quality care for our pediatric patients and their families.

Please consider joining the Jay Fund in supporting St. Joseph’s Health Children’s Hospital by donating today! Any gift is greatly appreciated, and can help change a life.