Jets come together at annual Kickoff Luncheon

Oct 18, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker (87) celebrates with wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) during his game against the Washington Redskins at MetLife Stadium. The Jets won, 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker (87) celebrates with wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) during his game against the Washington Redskins at MetLife Stadium. The Jets won, 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Jets recently hosted their annual Kickoff Luncheon to benefit the Alliance for Lupus Research. It was a major success as fans and players had a great time raising awareness for such an important and meaningful cause.

In recent years the Jets have been acknowledged for the bulk of their great work within the community and with their great support of various causes. Their annual kickoff luncheon is one of the team’s signature events, which benefits both the community and various organizations, which are close to the hearts of many.

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The foundation that the Jets kickoff luncheon mainly benefits is the Alliance for Lupus Research. The ALR is a very large health organization that is dedicated to constantly researching and eventually finding the cure for Lupus. Owner Woody Johnson has made sure that the team maintains involvement with the ALR, and the kickoff luncheon is a great way of doing just that.

Many important members of the organization spoke to the crowd at the densely populated event. Some of the biggest names who spoke were quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, head coach Todd Bowles, and Johnson.

Johnson talked a lot about the team’s partnership with the ALR as well as some of the other organizations that the franchise have been involved with and what the upcoming season will look like for the Jets. Bowles gave some insight into the Jets’ locker room as he talked about the team’s preparation and mindset for the upcoming season. Fitzpatrick may have been the most entertaining of all though as he talked about the team’s preparation before giving the organization some praise for its high level of class.

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At points in between some of the speeches, Jets fans got to interact with some of their favorite players as many were signing autographs and taking pictures. This was a really special part of the event as a great part of Jets nation really got to unite as one.

This was a really special part of the event as a great part of Jets Nation really got to unite as one.

The event was a major success for the ALR as the amount of pledges of donations went through the roof during the event.

The total amount of money that was raised for Lupus research ended up being right around an astonishing $1M in total.

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All in all, the Jets’ kickoff luncheon was an exciting, interesting, and an inspiring event as it helped to bring the community together. It really is great to see the organization putting together some of these special events to help get the message out to the masses.