After being diagnosed with cancer and before the rapid onslaught of the disease spread to her brain, Marisa Tufaro worked with a hospital writing therapist to chronicle a visit to a “happy place” during her life.

The writing exercise was designed to distract Marisa from the pain she experienced from medical procedures and chemotherapy treatments. Marisa, who died last year at the age of 13 following complications from a heart transplant, recounted a trip to the boardwalk, a place she frequented and loved.

Those sojourns to Ocean City, Cape May and Point Pleasant Beach served as the inspiration for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s boardwalk-themed “Family Fun Night” at Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick on Tuesday night.

The sights, sounds and smells of the boardwalk and Jersey Shore were brought to life for the hospital’s patients and their families, who participated in carnival games, arts and crafts and dined on summer food favorites.

The event also featured a disc jockey, a live musical performance, a fortune teller, a high-tech photo booth, funhouse mirrors, dinner, a concert ticket giveaway, a therapy dog and the distribution of hundreds of toys and prizes to the pediatric patients and their siblings.

More than two dozen volunteers from The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to help children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area, worked with the hospital’s recreation therapy and child life staff to make the event a resounding success.

Marisa, who was hospitalized at different periods throughout her life for a total of more than two years, benefited from similar events, which helped break the monotony of a lengthy hospital stay and took her mind off her worries or discomfort.

“Thanks to the generosity of community partners like The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, our children and families have the opportunity to take a break from their normal routine,” said Sara Mapes, Director of Sponsorships and Engagement at Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation. “Family Fun Night is a fun, interactive program that supports our vision here at Children’s Specialized – a world where all children can reach their full potential.”

Marisa received outstanding care as an outpatient from Children’s Specialized Hospital twice in her life. She benefited most recently from physical therapy at Children’s Specialized Hospital’s New Brunswick location following her July 2016 heart transplant.

The boardwalk-themed event was designed to give back to Children’s Specialized Hospital and to commemorate what would have been Marisa’s 15th birthday, which is July 30.

WOW! Entertainment, a Somerset-based entertainment production company, provided carnival-style games such as skee ball, whack-a-mole, basketball, ring toss and a claw machine, all of which Marisa also enjoyed during family vacations to Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach.

Chris Pedersen, one of Marisa’s beloved school teachers, and John Scutti, performed live music inside the hospital cafeteria while guests dined. Their playlist included a host of summertime favorites and children’s songs. Pedersen was recently honored with an award from the New England Songwriting Competition for his children’s song “Tree by a Rolling River.”

Frank Eckert, the Home News Tribune’s reigning Girls Basketball Coach of the Year from Edison High School who teaches physical education at Edison’s Lindeneau Elementary School, volunteered his services and expertise, providing dance music as the event’s disc jockey. Steve Krichilo joined Eckert as an emcee.

Andrew Solomon, a rising junior boys soccer player at Edison High School, manned and operated an interactive photo booth that played games and featured a full-size mirror on which guests could write a message that appeared on a photograph printed in real time.

Decorations included beach-themed table centerpieces, courtesy of the Marisa’s Makers Club at Edison’s Herbert Hoover Middle School, which created the pieces with love and care under the direction of Shannon Marasco, another of Marisa’s beloved teachers.

Dairy Queen, a proud partner of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, of which Children’s Specialized Hospital is associated, donated ice cream treats for the guests. Fresh-popped popcorn and hot pretzels were also served.

Kristen Bussiere, an accomplished actress and singer from Edison who has performed off-Broadway, regionally and with a national theater company, provided entertainment as a fortune teller, accurately predicting the immediate future of several guests. Bussiere appeared in a national Snapple TV commercial with Nick Cannon.

One adolescent patient won a set of four Americans with Disabilities Act accessible tickets to a 5 Seconds of Summer concert at P.N.C. Bank Arts Center in September.

A specially designed boardwalk sign, as well as a wall-sized Ferris wheel poster with lights and a carousel horse, augmented the decorations inside the event.

Burton, a two-year-old golden retriever and the only facility dog working fulltime at a New Jersey children’s hospital, interacted with guests.

Foundation volunteers included educators from Edison Township Public Schools, Marisa’s relatives, friends of the Tufaro family including J.P. Stevens High School student Sebastian Sibilia and a trio of football players – Andrew Buchek, Alex Chiquibala and Ryan Manganaro – from Piscataway High School.

Manganaro’s mother, Julie, is executive assistant to Children’s Specialized Hospital’s chief executive officer.

Stephanie Bussiere, Christa Conklin, Kim DuHamel, Becky Hughes, Katie Hughes, Tim Hughes, Flo McKercher, Virginia Pattie, Karlee Pedersen, Barbara Pulaski, Sue Seago, Jen Sibilia, John Thompson, Terri Thompson, Sharon Waters, Mike Yoson and Lynda Zapoticzny also volunteered to make the night a success.

Marisa’s parents, Cyndi, an Edison Township elementary school principal, and Greg, a sports writer for MyCentralJersey.com and the Home News Tribune, founded the tax-exempt nonprofit bearing their daughter’s name in her loving memory.

The foundation, established less than a year ago, has already made a profound impact. Following are some of the ways in which it has helped pediatric patients and other children in need:

  • Partnered with Old Bridge and South Brunswick high schools to collected thousands of toys for pediatric patients at Saint Peter’s University Children’s Hospital and Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital.
  • Funded the purchase of brand new metal bunk beds for campers at Kiddie Keep Well Camp, which serves more than 600 underserved Middlesex County children annually.
  • Partnered with the Kittim N. Sherrod Foundation to provide a youth football and cheerleading organization with a state-of-the art automated external defibrillator, as well as AED and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for adult members of the organization.
  • Supported instruction and supplies for an art therapy program at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital, to which our foundation also provided funds for infant mobiles and toy cars staff use to transport children to the operating room for surgery.
  • Provided money for equipment and supplies for students with disabilities who utilize the Lakeview School’s newly constructed aquatics center.
  • Partnered with the Teamwork Unlimited Foundation to provide medical alert bracelets to children with autism and pediatric patients with chronic illness who receive outstanding care from Children’s Specialized Hospital, which annually serves more than 34,000 children statewide.
  • Provided new iPads and gaming system accessories (Xbox and Play Station 4 games, controllers, chargers) for adolescent patients at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital.
  • Partially funded the Make-A-Wish of a Middlesex County boy who is winning a battle with high-risk neuroblastoma.
  • Provided physical therapy at Special Strides Therapeutic Riding Center and Project Walk for Middlesex County children whose families do not have health insurance or whose families’ health insurer does not cover the cost of the physical therapy.
  • Raised money and collected nonperishable food items to benefit Middlesex County children and their families through Hands of Hope via our foundation’s participation with students from Edison High School and the Chamberlain College of Nursing in the Race to Outrun Hunger.
  • Provided meals and goods for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Jersey.
  • Assisted multiple families whose children are in medical crisis, providing financial support through the payment of medical and/or personal expenses to help lessen the burden of parents who have lost wages while spending time at the hospital.
  • Provided art scholarships for Middlesex County elementary and middle school students.
  • Rewarded high school students for their community service to children with scholarships.
  • Partnered with James Monroe Elementary School to fill “Weekend Snack Bags” for pediatric patients and their families.
  • Provided scholarships to Greater Middlesex Conference student-athletes.
  • Partnered with Middlesex High School to conduct a winter coat drive for Middlesex County children.
  • Provided gift cards for pediatric patients and their families.

https://twitter.com/FoundationMT/status/1022828413189607426