No matter how many gifts Joe Kelly has given his son over the years, this one certainly will top them all.

Joe Kelly, the father of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and East Brady native Jim Kelly, has helped to organize the Swing For Hope charity golf event to be held at Conley's Resort on Route 8 on Monday.

All the proceeds will be given to Hunter's Hope, the foundation created by Jim Kelly and his wife nine years ago when their late son, Hunter, was diagnosed with Krabbe Disease.

Jim Kelly will be the lone celebrity at the event and will not golf a full 18 holes. He will mingle with the 36 foursomes, greeting as many players as he can.

Golfers will tee off with a 10 a.m. shotgun start.

"We owe a lot to Wayne Conley," said Butler resident Dan McKnight, who has been involved with the organization of the event since the beginning. "He's the owner of Conley's Resort and he's gone out of his way to help us out with keeping the cost down.

"He and his whole staff are so easy to work with."

Between the round of golf, which is costing each player $100 and includes dinner, door prizes, an autographed picture of Jim Kelly and a sports memorabilia auction for the golfers only, Joe Kelly is hoping to raise about $15,000 for Hunter's Hope.

"I've always been willing to do anything I could to help out with Hunter's Hope," said the elder Kelly. "But it's tough with (Jim) living up in New York and me still living down here."

Joe Kelly moved from East Brady to Butler in 1998. He became good friends with McKnight five years ago.

In the fall of 2005, just a couple of months after Hunter lost his battle with Krabbe Disease, Joe Kelly and McKnight began work on putting together the charity golf event.

Soon after, Joe gave his son a call.

"When my dad called and told me about this golf event and asked if I'd be able to come down, I said, 'Sure, Pops, I'll go anywhere you need me to," said Jim Kelly. "I mean, that's my dad.

"My dad is a strong man and he always has been," Jim added. "But it crushed him when Hunter died."

The search for the 144 golfers began in May. It didn't take long for that quota to be filled.

"Within three weeks, we had 36 foursomes," McKnight said. "And it was all just word-of-mouth. That's how we got the word out. That shows you what kind of respect Joe has in this town and what kind of respect Jim commands in this town.

"We actually had to turn some golfers down," added McKnight. "We didn't want the golf course to be too crowded."

"As soon as we mentioned Jim Kelly and the fact that it was for Hunter's Hope, there was no hesitation by people to agree to help us out," Joe Kelly said. "They were all glad to do it."

Jim's wife, Jill, gave birth to Hunter in February 1997. It was just four months later when doctors told the couple the bad news: their infant son had a rare nervous system disease called Krabbe Disease.

"The doctors told us to take him home and give him unconditional love," Jim said. "But we also knew that we had to continue to fight."

It was out of this willingness to fight back that Hunter's Hope was born.

"My wife said that if there was ever a time to use my name, this was it," Jim said. "Let's try to help families and the kids who have this disease."

An infant with the disease usually begins suffering symptoms between two and six months after birth.

The average life span of a child with Krabbe Disease is just 13 months. In very rare cases, children have lived up to five years with the illness.

Hunter was eight years old when died a year ago.

The foundation begun in his honor is a reminder of Hunter's fighting spirit.

To date, it has raised nearly $13 million, which goes toward researching Krabbe Disease and finding a cure.

Strides toward that end are being made near every day.

"They are now doing blood transplants at Duke University that are helping to improve the condition of a lot of kids with Krabbe Disease," said Jim Kelly. "They didn't know anything about that when Hunter was born.

"We're so pleased with the work that's been done through the foundation," he added.

Donations can be sent to Hunter's Hope Foundation, P.O. Box 643, Orchard Park, N.Y., 14127 or P.O. Box 2429, Butler, Pa, 16003, c/o Bill O'Donnell.

Everyone involved in Monday's golf event is hoping it turns into an annual tradition.

"We're hoping it does," said Joe Kelly. "We'll have to see how it goes, but it looks to be a great success."

Jim Kelly and his wife live in Orchard Park with their two surviving children, daughters Erin (11) and Camryn (7).