{"id":431749,"date":"2020-05-12T15:08:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T22:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=431749"},"modified":"2020-05-12T15:27:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T22:27:30","slug":"ryan-murphy-teams-up-with-tom-coughlin-jay-fund-to-help-families-dealing-with-childhood-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ryan-murphy-teams-up-with-tom-coughlin-jay-fund-to-help-families-dealing-with-childhood-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Murphy Teams Up With Tom Coughlin Jay Fund to Help Families Dealing With Childhood Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olympic gold medalist and world record holder\u00a0Ryan Murphy\u00a0<\/strong>teamed up with the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund<\/a> to connect with young children suffering from cancer in both Jacksonville and the New York \/ New Jersey areas. Murphy has teamed up with the fund before, in 2018 when he joined for a round of visits for cancer patients at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Murphy’s home town.<\/p>\n

The organization, according to Jacksonville.com, was established in 1996 in honor of former Boston College safety Jay McGillis<\/strong>, assists with financial, emotional and practical support to help families tackle childhood cancer both in Jacksonville and the New York\/New Jersey area, where Tom Coughlin<\/strong> coached the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants.<\/p>\n

Keli Coughlin<\/strong>, the fund\u2019s executive director and the daughter of the former coach, said the pandemic has increased those families\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

Some parents, she said, have suffered layoffs or furloughs connected to the sharp economic decline, while others have had to leave their jobs to assume the tasks of caregivers. This is the perfect opportunity for the Fund to let families know they are not alone in this battle.<\/p>\n

Ryan Murphy teamed up with former Giants linebacker and cancer survivor Mark Herzlich\u00a0<\/strong>to meet with kids in Jacksonville and New York\/New Jersey virtually due to the required social distancing guidelines instituted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis lets them know they\u2019re not fighting this alone,\u201d Tom Coughlin said according to Jacksonville.com. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people rooting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy, a native of Jacksonville, was training in Berkeley, California for a potential second trip to the Olympic Games where he was aiming to defend his 100 and 200 backstroke gold medals<\/a> from Rio. The coronavirus has caused the Olympic Games to be pushed back a whole year, but has not stopped the Jay Fund from connecting with young cancer patients.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After the IOC announced their decision, Coughlin reached out to Murphy about connecting with young cancer patients again, to which he did not hesitate.<\/div>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s a real natural at connecting with people, and the kids loved it,\u201d Keli Coughlin said.<\/p>\n
Ryan Murphy talked with one of the young patients about how she\u2019s handling treatment and took time to wish her a happy birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen all of the quarantine is over, you\u2019re going to have to throw a nice little birthday party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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A post shared by Ryan Murphy (@ryan_f_murphy)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n