Joe Kelly still rounds up bottle caps and can tabs.

He scrounges them up here and there. He gathers the ones dropped off at the Butler American Legion and puts them in storage containers. Once there are enough of them, he lugs them to a recycling center for money.

It's a labor that has consumed Kelly for years. Raising money has also consumed the life of his son, Jim Kelly, the Hall of Fame quarterback who grew up in East Brady. Jim Kelly's son, Hunter, was born with Krabbe Leukodystrophy, a rare nervous system disease.

It's been the Kellys' mission to find a cure for Krabbe.

Hunter died of the disease in August of 2005 at the age of 8.

The bottle caps also led to a bigger endeavor for Joe Kelly: the Swing for Hope Golf Tournament held each August since 2006 at Conley's Resort.

This year, though, will be the last. Joe Kelly, now 81, is moving to Buffalo in July to be close to his sons, including Jim, and his 15 grandchildren.

"I'm getting up there," Joe Kelly said. "I don't get around as well as I used to. I just want to be closer."

It's hard putting an end to a tournament that has been so successful, Joe Kelly said.

Since its inception, the tournament has raised more than $125,000 and has helped spur major medical breakthroughs in the fight against Krabbe Leukodystrophy.

"I'm very proud of the tournament and how much money we have been able to raise," Joe Kelly said. "The research center is doing really well now. Now a child with this disease is able to walk. My grandson never walked, was partially blind and was on a machine 24 hours a day."

There is still a lot of work to be done, but in the past five years, researchers have been able to crack part of the Krabbe puzzle.

Jim Kelly, who started the Hunter's Hope Foundation in 1997, also champions other causes.

Due to the foundation, Pennsylvania, as well as many other states, now screens for 28 diseases — include Krabbe —at birth. Before the movement, the number was just eight.

Tournaments like the Swing for Hope have helped raise the money to lobby for these changes.

That's part of the reason why the Swing for Hope tournament has been so popular since it began.

Dan McKnight, a longtime friend of the Kelly family who has helped organize the tournament since the beginning, said he has to turn people away.

"I try to limit it to 144 people," McKnight said. "But it's hard. I always end up with 152."

How hard is it to get a spot in this tournament?

"My brother can't even get in," McKnight said. "It's a sell out. It's always a sell out."

Like Joe Kelly, McKnight is sad the tournament has to end, but also understands the reason.

"Joe wants to be closer to his boys and grandchildren," McKnight said. "They will do more tournaments up in Buffalo. Jim is tireless when it comes to raising money for his foundation. He's always at it. So is Joe. Those caps and tabs he collects tells you that.

"I don't have any kids," McKnight added. "I've been married for 33 years, but they sold me on this testing. It's a great thing they are doing."

Spots are still open for the 2010 Swing for Hope Golf Tournament at Conley's Resort Aug. 16. This will be the final Swing for Hope tournament:• Cost is $135 per golfer and includes lunch, dinner, prizes, beverages on the course, a hole-in-one contest, photographs, autographs and other goodies supplied by the committee.• Sponsors are also welcome. Sponsors who donate $5,000 or more will receive an autographed Hall of Fame helmet, football, jersey and two foursomes in the tournament.• Sponsors who donate $2,500-to-$4,999 will receiver an autographed Hall of Fame football and a foursome in the tournament.• Sponsors donating $500-to-$2,499 will receive an autographed football.• Sponsors donating $100-$499 will receive a tee or green sign and recogniton to the program the day of the tournament.The shotgun start will begin at 10 a.m.For more information or to register for the event, email Dan McKnight at drmksm@zoominternet.net