Fourteen high school girls soccer teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference are uniting to help pediatric cancer patients and other children in need through their participation in a fundraising event benefiting two New Jersey-based nonprofits.

In addition, the nearly 300 players and coaches involved in the 2021 Soccer for a Cause Charity Festival will also be collecting nonperishable food items for REPLENISH, Nourishing Neighbors (formerly MCFOODS), a regional food bank serving Middlesex County residents.

The showcase will be held Oct. 9 (rain date Oct. 10) at Metuchen High School with seven games between evenly matched teams from the conference’s Blue and White divisions being contested across multiple fields at staggered times starting at 10 a.m.

Go4theGoal – whose mission is to improve the lives of children battling cancer nationwide by providing financial support, developing and implementing unique hospital programs, funding innovative research, and granting personal wishes – and The Marisa Tufaro Foundation – which assists pediatric patients and children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area – are the charity festival’s beneficiaries.

“What started out as a conversation between soccer coaches at a county coaches meeting two years ago has turned into an exciting venture that will benefit some very deserving charitable organizations and female student-athletes in our GMC Blue and White divisions,” Metuchen girls soccer coach Mike Knoth said.

The launch and build up for the event fittingly occurs in September, which is National Hunger Awareness Month and National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

“High school sports are so much more than just playing games,” Knoth said. “The life lessons our players take away from the high school experience is so much more than the competition. Our goal is for our athletes to become successful, productive citizens.

“It’s a great feeling to see that my colleagues in the GMC also feel the same way. The collaboration between participating schools has been great. We’re looking forward to October 9th.”

Friendly competition on and off the field

In the weeks leading up to the showcase, which Metuchen High School administrators including athletics director John Cathcart helped organize, the 14 participating teams will compete off the field to raise money for the two charities.

Blue Division participants include Carteret, J.F. Kennedy, Metuchen, Middlesex, Saint Thomas Aquinas, South Plainfield, and Spotswood.

Colonia, Edison, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, and Woodbridge will represent the White Division.

The top fundraising teams from each division will be publicly recognized during a special awards presentation on the day of the festival. Ron Mazzola of Prestige Imaging in Old Bridge is donating the awards.

All players and coaches will be gifted specially designed T-shirts courtesy of event sponsors Mangia Toscano of Metuchen, Jersey Fresh Embroidery of Somerset, and R & D Promotions of Milltown.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation and Go4theGoal will each provide all participants with commemorative wristbands.

Metuchen School District Superintendent Vincent Caputo said the district is “super-excited” to host the festival.

“First of all, from a competition standpoint, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to showcase great student-athletes from 14 different schools,” Caputo said.

“But in this kind of specific format, we are bringing the community together in an otherwise difficult time. On the life end, it’s so gratifying that we can host an event benefiting awesome charities.

“We know long after the October 9th event the (charity) work is going to continue through these partnerships.”

Fighting pediatric cancer

New Jersey residents Dr. Richard Stefanacci and his wife, Beth, founded Go4theGoal in 2006, soon after their oldest child was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Go4theGoal’s Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer fundraising initiative was created in 2011 in response to New Jersey youth soccer teams that wanted to help make a difference, and now gives sports teams across the country an opportunity to raise awareness and much needed support.  All funds stay in the state they are raised to help local children battling cancer.

“On behalf of Go4theGoal, we are incredibly honored to be one of two beneficiaries for the GMC Charity Festival,” said Beth Stefanacci, Go4theGoal’s executive director.

“We have had the privilege of partnering with a number of girls soccer teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference through our Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer initiative over the past several years. We are truly grateful to … all of the coaches for including us. It is only because of the efforts of teams like these that we are able to make a difference in the lives of kids battling cancer and their families in New Jersey.”

According to the American Cancer Society, this year about 10,500 children ages 1 to 14 in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer. Cancer will claim the lives of about 1,190 children under the age of 15 nationwide in 2021. Cancer is second only to accidents as the leading cause of death in children 14 and younger.

Childhood cancer rates have been rising slightly for the past few decades, but with major advances in treatment, 84% of children with cancer now survive five years or more, a significant increase from the mid-1970s when the five-year survival rate was less than 60% (survival rates vary greatly depending on the type of cancer with which a child is diagnosed and other factors).

Since 2007, Go4theGoal has funded more than $1 million in pediatric cancer research and works with nearly 200 hospitals across the country to provide assistance to patients and families.

Go4theGoal has annually been rated since 2011 as a top nonprofit by GreatNonprofits.com and has a Platinum Seal of Approval from Guidestar.

‘Much more to the world’

Colonia is among the GMC schools that have previously fundraised for Go4theGoal.

“I was looking to bring some sort of charity involvement to the program and Go4theGoal happened to reach out to me,” said Colonia head coach Steve Carew, whose players have raised approximately $10,000 for the nonprofit since 2017.

“I was impressed with the message they were sending and the way they were using the money, and it’s all taken off since then.”

Carew said he believes it’s paramount for all student-athletes to understand giving back to the community and supporting others can be a fulfilling experience.

“It’s important for them to know there’s more going on around them than just what they see in their own world,” Carew said, noting he also wants students who “may see pediatric cancer in their world” to know they too “are supported.”

“The big overall message,” Carew said, “is there’s more to high school than soccer and class, and certainly much more to the world.”

Reciprocal relationship

Cyndi and Greg Tufaro established The Marisa Tufaro Foundation in loving memory of their daughter, Marisa, an Edison Township Public Schools honor roll student who succumbed four years ago at the age of 13 to a rare form of blood cancer following a heart transplant and six open-heart surgeries.

Since its inception in 2017, the nonprofit has donated $225,000 to assist hospitalized children and other kids in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area. The foundation, which makes community service an integral part of its mission, has also spearheaded multiple initiatives, resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter coats, baby supplies and other items for donation upon which the nonprofit has placed no monetary value. In addition, the foundation has awarded scholarships to more than three dozen Middlesex County students.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has benefited from dozens of fundraisers, ranging in size from individual events at GMC schools to conference-wide all-star games and tournaments featuring student-athletes from the entire league.

“The GMC has been our nonprofit’s biggest supporter,” said Cyndi Tufaro, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s executive director. “Words can never express our gratitude to all those throughout the conference who have selflessly worked together over the past four years to profoundly impact the lives of children in need. The GMC girls soccer community is continuing that tradition in exemplary fashion. We are honored to join Go4theGoal as a beneficiary of this amazing charity festival.”

Several GMC sports teams have participated in community service projects The Marisa Tufaro Foundation sponsored, fostering a reciprocal relationship between the nonprofit and conference schools.

In the spirit of paying the GMC’s kindness forward and in honor of the players and coaches participating in the charity festival, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation will make a generous donation to REPLENISH, which serves a network of more than 140 local food pantries, soup kitchens and social service agencies.

Food for thought

REPLENISH projected a food insecurity increase in Middlesex County from 7.3% before the pandemic’s onset to nearly 12% in 2020 with the number of food insecure residents jumping from 60,660 to 98,490. More than 30,000 of those residents were children.

Food insecurity, according to REPLENISH, remains at an all-time high, and with the holiday season approaching, the regional food bank will benefit from the GMC girls soccer community’s effort.

Spectators attending the charity festival are encouraged to drop off nonperishable food items at Metuchen High School on the day of the event.

Canned chicken, cereal, macaroni and cheese, canned meats, pasta, vegetables (low sodium), fruits (low sugar), diapers, wipes, stew (low sodium), granola bars, rice, dry beans (red, black, pinto), paper products, soap, shampoo, and toothpaste are among the preferred items for donation. REPLENISH can only accept canned and packaged goods (no glass items).

“As we continued to work out the details of the festival and the organizations we were trying to promote and raise money for, the idea to include a local food bank came up,” Middlesex girls soccer coach Tim Morris said.

“We’ve always been optimistic about having a great turnout for the games, and given the crowd we’re anticipating, it seemed like a no-brainer to ask those in attendance – parents, friends, random local soccer fans, and the teams themselves – to make a small contribution to REPLENISH.

“The reality is that far too many families struggle to put food on the table, even more so over the past year and a half, and it’s amazing that there are organizations like REPLENISH that are committed to helping those families make ends meet.

“But they can’t do it alone, and we wanted our players to come away with an appreciation for how their contributions back to their community, however small, collectively can make a huge impact, as well as hopefully inspire others to do the same.”

‘We are all proud of you’

The objective of the charity festival is to create a competitive environment and develop friendly rivalries among participating teams while emphasizing good sportsmanship, positive communication, mutual respect, and giving back to the community through a collaborative effort.

Regardless of the outcomes of the seven games being contested at Metuchen High School on Oct. 9, pediatric cancer patients, children in need and food insecure families will all benefit from one common goal.

Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., whose legislative district encompasses seven Middlesex County municipalities, three of which will be represented in the festival, praised the student-athletes and their coaches for participating in the event.

“On behalf of the entire state and our governor, Governor Phil Murphy, I want to congratulate the 14 girls high school soccer teams,” said Diegnan, who also serves on The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

“I’ve always said that sports celebrate what’s good in young people, and you are proving that by participating in the fundraiser and the food drive.

“Keep up the good work. We are all proud of you.”