- Mortgage, rent, car, electric, water, phone, food, and other household expense payments are made to assist a families. Many times a parent must miss work to be with a child who is hospitalized or requires home care. The decreased income combined with the medical expenses creates a tremendous financial burden. The Jay Fund attempts to alleviate some of this burden so a family can focus on the health of their child.
 Payments for Umbilical Cord Blood Transplants are provided a minimum of two times yearly. This procedure is often a last ditch effort to save an ill child and is not covered by most insurance carriers. Each payment is $22,000, which is an expense that most families simply cannot undertake. We provide the hope and ability to try all that they can to save their child.
- The Annual Valentines Day Party is held at the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History. All children who are undergoing treatment for leukemia or cancer in Jacksonville are invited along with their families for an afternoon of entertainment and companionship. Arts and crafts, carnival games, dance performances, science demonstrations, tours of the museum, food, and drinks are all part of the fun. The families have the opportunity to enjoy time together outside of the medical clinic environment. It allows them the opportunity to socialize, bond, and form a support network to help them get through this difficult time. Of coarse, the kids have lots of fun celebrating! Children who are too ill to leave the hospital and attend the party are visited by a special group and given care packages and encouragement.
- The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation is an annual sponsor of a Holiday Party organized by the American Cancer Society in Jacksonville. The Jay Fund provides gifts for approximately 50 children per year, which parents have the opportunity to give to the children at the party or take home for another special celebration. The Jay Fund also provides special entertainment at the party and makes the photographs with Santa Claus possible.
- The Annual Remembrance Weekend is an event for families who have lost a child to leukemia or cancer. Each year 20-25 families gather at The World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida for a few days of healing. Counselors, social workers, psychologists, physicians, and clergy members all volunteer to conduct the sessions. Each evening is wrapped up with enjoyable activities at the resort including IMAX movies, mini-golf, the Golf Hall of
 Fame, swimming, and shopping. The weekend is emotionally difficult but very rewarding. Many positive comments are received from the participants.
- An annual college scholarship is rewarded as an inspiration to a survivor in order that they may achieve their full potential in life. Residents of the Jacksonville, Florida area and New York Metropolitan area including Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passiac and Union Counties in New Jersey who have had a diagnosis of leukemia or cancer prior to the age of 21 are eligible. Academic record, leadership ability, moral character and need are some of the attributes considered in selecting the winner each spring. The recipient must be enrolled or planning to enroll full time in an accredited college or university and will receive $1500 yearly for up to fours years.
If you or someone you know is interested in applying, please call the Jay Fund for an application 904-543-2599. The annual scholarship application deadline for the Jacksonville area is April 20th and for the NY/NJ area is May 20th.
 The expansion of the Art with a Heart for Children program to the Nemours Children’s Clinic’s hematology/oncology department has been sponsored by the Jay Fund. This program provides an opportunity for ill children to express themselves creatively in a supportive environment. It enables children to regain sense of control taken away from them by their illness, improving their quality of life.
- Child Psychology Funding has been provided by the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation to Nemours Children’s Clinic. Support and education are provided to pediatric oncology patients and their families as needed to address behavioral and emotional issues related to the stresses of cancer, pain management, treatment of anxiety, special educational needs, and family adjustments due to illness
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