
Jay challenged members of the media to understand his craft and his devotion to raising money for children's charities wherever he performed. In Niagara Falls in 2002, he brought the children of Tender Wishes to the forefront, raising thousands of dollars through his after show autograph sessions. Kevin O'Neil of Buffalo's WIVB-TV got up close and personal to understand skywalking.
JAY AND THE MAYOR
Wayne Thomson, who was mayor when Cochrane performed in Niagara Falls in 2002, called him “a true friend” whose feats were “spectacular.” “I doubt that anybody else could have accomplished what he did. He was so talented and confident at what he did, it was just amazing,”
The two would remain friends for the rest of Jay's life and bring a new respect to skywalking.


Jay held special events to bring together the kids he so wanted to help and the adults who were enamored with his skill. Jay had a special talent, not just on the wire, to make people happy.
In the summer of 2002, he raised nearly a hundred thousand dollars in donations. Over the next decade, Jay Cochrane would perform over 800 skywalks above the city of Niagara Falls and would continue his philanthropy with the Boys and Girls Club and Tender Wishes. "He just couldn't do enough for us. He would come to our summer parties for the kids and sign autographs and be with the kids," said Jill Taylor, wish chair for the organization.

Jay Cochrane helps Nicolle from Tender Wishes walk the wire live on News 4 Buffalo Morning Show with Kevin O’Neill from Jay's venue at Planet Hollywood in Niagara Falls, Canada, on June 25, 2002. ©Mark D Phillips
Over the years, he logged numerous claims to aerial fame. His first World Record came in 1972 when he walked back and forth for a distance of two and a half miles on a 100-yard-long wire more than 100 feet above the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. He set a second in 1981 when he lived on a high wire for 21 days in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1995, he walked for 53 minutes above the swirling waters of the Yangtze River more than 1,300 feet below, crossing 2,098 feet between cliffs on either side of the Qutang Gorge. He returned to China in 1996 during the Shanghai Tourism Festival to perform the longest building-to-building nighttime skywalk for another World Record. In 1998, he traversed the towers of the Flamingo Hilton, balancing 30 stories above Las Vegas and walking 800 feet blindfolded. His final skywalk in Niagara Falls, Skywalk 2012, was awarded a World Record for longest cumulative distance over 500-feet in the sky when he accumulated a total distance of 19.01 km [11.81 mi] in 48 skywalks from 6 July-17 September 2012.