New York Giants Official Website

Making a difference
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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MAY 15, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - With a Super Bowl ring he earned last year and his first Pro Bowl appearance after the 2008 season, Shaun O'Hara has reached the top of his profession. But the Giants center thought he wasn't all he could be off the field. O'Hara was the Giants' recipient of the 2005 NFL Walter Payton "Man of the Year" award, given to the player on each team who displays excellence on the football field and in the community. Long involved in charitable endeavors, O'Hara wanted to establish a forum for helping people on a consistent and ongoing basis.

C Shaun O'Hara has a won a Super Bowl but he is now making a bigger difference

He took that step this year with the establishment of the Shaun O'Hara Foundation, which was founded for the purpose of helping to increase knowledge and education in life-threatening diseases for which there is limited funding. The foundation's first major fundraising event will take place Wednesday, when the inaugural Shaun O'Hara Golf Classic presented by BCI will be held at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City.

"I've wanted to start my own foundation for a number of years," O'Hara said. "When I first signed with the Giants (in 2004) it was something I talked about. I did a little research to find out what it entails and the best way to do it. It's something that's been on my desk the last couple of years. I didn't have a direction I wanted to go with my foundation. I did a lot of different things and participated in as many other foundations and good causes as I could."

Most notable among them was his work with the Greater New Jersey Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. O'Hara serves as the organization's "Ambassador of Hope."

Improving the lives of those afflicted with cystic fibrosis and raising money to eradicate the disease are causes O'Hara is passionately committed to. About two years ago, he was introduced to Sean Squires, whose father, Bill, is a former manager of Giants Stadium and Yankee Stadium and currently serves as a consultant. Bill Squires remains a frequent and popular presence in the Giants offices. Sean, who will celebrate his 12th birthday next month, has cystic fibrosis.

"They approached me and asked me if I would get involved with CF," O'Hara said. "I ended up becoming the Ambassador of Hope for the New Jersey chapter. It's been a great partnership and it's really given me something I can attach myself to and I feel I have a connection with. Through my foundation I can do work and assist the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation from a monetary standpoint by raising funds for them and raising awareness as well. I go to events to raise awareness and to encourage people to get to know what CF is all about and to get people involved and to get people to donate money to help the research efforts."

Through the Squires family, O'Hara has met many other youngsters with cystic fibrosis.

"I think I have a pretty good understanding of some of the struggles they've gone through in terms of trying to raise funds," O'Hara said. "It is the number one genetic killer in children. That was a statistic that shocked me. In addition to that, it's actually considered an orphan disease, meaning fewer than 200,000 people in the country are affected by it. So it receives little or no funding from the federal government. Here we have a disease that is the number one genetic killer, but not enough people have it, so it doesn't get the funding some of these other diseases get. That really jumped off the page for me.

"It's really quite lonely for kids who get diagnosed with it, because they really can't be around each other. It isn't like other diseases where you can't affect another person with the disease and you can have support groups and support each other through medical procedures. They can't be in close interaction with other kids with CF, because they can affect each other with lung infections. That makes it unique."

Through his foundation, O'Hara hopes to improve the lives of the youngsters who are challenged daily by the disease while searching for a cure.

He will be joined at the golf classic by several Giants teammates. The golf is sold out, but those interested in attending the dinner or donating money can visit shaunoharafoundation.org

"We've set our sights pretty high," O'Hara said. "We wanted to aim high but didn't know what a realistic outcome was - and you couple that with a struggling economy. We know we'll be able to do some things with the money we raise at the event. We're going to have a great event and raise some big time funds.

"I want to start something that will continue to grow and continue to prosper and do great things. I don't want it to be a one-hit wonder. I want it to be something that 10 or 15 years from now can be a foundation that made a huge impact on a lot of people's lives."