Tragedy struck in 2003 when journalist Michael Kelly,
one of the original members, became the first American
journalist killed in the Iraq War. On St. Patrick’s Day
2004 – which would have been his 47th birthday
– the Kelly Gang held a benefit to raise money for the
Tom & Jack Kelly Education Fund, benefiting Michael’s
two sons.
Over the past decade, the annual St. Patrick’s Day
Benefit has become a unique, invitation only, gathering
of New York City’s most influential players in media and
publishing, bringing together industry leaders and
contributors.
To date,
they have raised over $500,000 for worthy causes,
including the family of late editor and columnist
Michael Kelly, The Kelly Cares Foundation, City Harvest,
The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, Tuesday’s
Children, Catholic Relief Services in Haiti, The Doe
Fund, The Hunter’s Hope Foundation, The Wounded Warrior
Project, New Orleans Catholic Charities Crescent House,
Operation Helping Hands, the Lower East Side Tenement
Museum, and the Annie Moore Memorial Project.