In honor of the players and cheerleaders who would have participated in the 2020 MyCentralJersey.com All-Star Football Game between Middlesex and Union counties, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is donating a total of $3,000 to the event’s beneficiaries.
All proceeds from the contest, which the coronavirus pandemic prevented from being played for a 27th consecutive summer, have annually benefited Children’s Specialized Hospital and the Lakeview School, a program of the New Jersey Institute for Disabilities.
The charity all-star game has raised more than $712,000 since its inception in 1994. This year’s game was scheduled to be played at North Brunswick High School’s Steve Libro Field on Thursday night.
Through the generosity of others, including many of the school communities who annually partake in the charity all-star football game, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has been privileged to support both the Lakeview School and Children’s Specialized Hospital. Their outstanding services perfectly align with our nonprofit’s mission, which is to help pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
Our nonprofit previously made a donation to the Lakeview School. The gift helped provide equipment and supplies for students utilizing the school’s Aquatic Center, which features a state-of-the-art hydrotherapy pool.
Each of the past two summers, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has fully funded a boardwalk-themed Family Fun Night at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick. The evening included carnival games, live music, prizes, arts and crafts, a DJ, and summer food favorites for patients and their families. The event was held in conjunction with about two dozen volunteers from our nonprofit and support from Children’s Specialized Hospital’s recreation therapy and child life staff. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, this year’s third annual Family Fun Night has been canceled.
The charity all-star football game, which New Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee and New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame member Marcus Borden founded and directs, honored Marisa’s memory in 2017, five months after she passed away.
Prior to the contest’s 24th annual installment that year at Kean University’s Alumni Stadium, Borden held a moment of silence for Marisa, whose image splashed across the scoreboard. In the days leading up to that game, Borden also held a “Spirit Night” fundraiser for our nonprofit. During the 2017 game, players wore specially designed helmet decals bearing Marisa’s initials in white lettering across a purple heart, and cheerleaders wore purple hair ribbons, which Middlesex County cheerleading coach Colleen Meyers handcrafted.
Marisa, who would have been entering her senior year this fall at Edison High School, was born with a complex cardiac defect that required six open-heart surgeries. Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, she lived a vibrant life that inspired. After her sixth surgery, Marisa developed two life-threatening conditions that necessitated a heart transplant. A postoperative complication developed into a rare form of cancer to which she succumbed following a valiant battle on Jan. 30, 2017. She was just 13 years old.
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.
Children’s Specialized Hospital annually serves more than 34,000 children statewide. With 12 different locations in New Jersey, it is the nation’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care for children from birth to 21 years of age facing special health challenges ranging from chronic illnesses and complex physical disabilities, such as brain and spinal cord injuries, to developmental and behavioral issues such as autism and mental health.
For more information about Children’s Specialized Hospital or to make a donation to Children’s Specialized Hospital, visit Children’s Specialized Hospital’s website.
The Lakeview School is one of the nation’s largest day programs for children with multiple disabilities. It boasts the most extensive clinical staff of any private or public school in the state, providing consultant medical and psychological services, specialized nursing services, social services and medical screenings.
The school has more than 150 students ranging in age from 3 to 21 from a dozen counties statewide – including Middlesex County, where the school is located – who have nearly 100 different medical diagnoses.
For more information about the Lakeview School or to make a donation to the New Jersey Institute of Disabilities, visit the institute’s donation page.