Congratulations to Savannah Doda of Carteret on her selection to cheer in the inaugural Marisa Rose Bowl, sponsored by Bellamy and Sons Paving.
Formerly known as the Snapple Bowl and Autoland Classic, the annual all-star game, New Jersey’s most successful, has generated $715,000 for charity since it was first contested in 1994.
All proceeds from this year’s event, showcasing Middlesex County’s best graduating scholastic seniors at North Brunswick High School’s Steve Libro Field on July 21, will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
Middlesex County high school football programs have been among the biggest supporters of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which since its inception less than five years ago has made a profound impact, donating nearly a quarter of a million dollars to fulfill its mission of helping pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The nonprofit has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has awarded $21,500 in academic scholarships to 31 high school graduates, several of who were football stars at Middlesex County high schools.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is committed to being a source of comfort to pediatric patients, a financial resource for their families, and a provider of funds and opportunities for underserved children.
The foundation was established in loving memory of Marisa Rose Tufaro, the daughter of longtime Edison Township Public Schools educator Cyndi Tufaro and former Home News Tribune and Courier News sportswriter Greg Tufaro, who as a reporter was an integral part of the charity all-star game since its inception nearly three decades ago.
Marisa Rose Tufaro, who would have graduated last year from Edison High School, survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle.
Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, she lived a vibrant life that inspired.
State Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., D-Middlesex, who serves on The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees, was nearly left speechless upon learning the all-star event will bear Marisa Rose Tufaro’s name.
“Words cannot capture my feelings when I learned that the game will now be known as the Marisa Rose Bowl,” said Diegnan, whose legislative district encompasses seven Middlesex County municipalities. “Directing the proceeds of the game to the Marisa Tufaro Foundation is a wonderful thing. Marisa’s courage will be an inspiration to all of those who participate.”
New Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee Marcus Borden, who is the founder and executive director of the all-star game, attributed its success to the participants.
“What we’ve been able to accomplish is because the kids and the coaches buy in and understand the importance of giving back,” Borden said. “The success of the game is due to their genuine commitment to what the game represents.”
Players and cheerleaders selected to participate in the Marisa Rose Bowl will be announced during a May 9 press conference presented by the Pines Manor at North Brunswick Township High School.
All will gather for a pregame dinner and celebration July 20 in Edison at the Pines Manor, which joins Adidas and Metro Team Sports as the event’s additional sponsors.
The first of seven practice sessions for the game will be conducted July 11 at Steve Libro Field. Details of a community service event involving all game participants will soon be announced.
The annual all-star contest has had several game sponsors in its 26-year history, but the one constant has been media partner MyCentralJersey.com, which provides exhaustive coverage of the event.
Borden credited Joe Bellamy, owner of Bellamy and Sons Paving in Piscataway, with infusing new life into the all-star game as its sponsor.
“He knows all about our event and what we’ve done,” Borden said. “I know that Joe and his family have been involved in youth and high school sports for a long time. Joe has a history of giving back and supporting others. It was a pleasant surprise to see he would want to help us continue what we do in our effort to make a difference in the community.”
Bellamy’s oldest son, Joey, a sparkplug on Piscataway’s undefeated 2018 sectional championship team which set a Middlesex County single-season record with 13 victories, played in the all-star game in 2019, the last year it was contested. His middle son, Rocco, is a senior at Piscataway, where he was an All-Big Central Football Conference Division 5D selection. His youngest son, Michael, is an eighth grader with gridiron promise. Joe Bellamy starred at Dunellen, from which he graduated in 1990, and is currently a Piscataway Pop Warner football coach.
“To be connected with the game, especially with (Marisa Rose’s) name attached to it, is an honor,” Joe Bellamy said. “I always felt the game was a great platform, and Marisa’s foundation is synonymous with anything to help children and young athletes, so this is a big deal for us.”
North Brunswick football coach Mike Cipot, who has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround at his alma mater since taking over the program in 2017, said the school-community is honored to host this year’s all-star game.
“From five years ago to where we are now, it’s definitely special that we are even thought of as a school to host this game,” Cipot said. “That North Brunswick football is relevant and the fact that we get to host an all-star game is awesome for the town, the school, our program and everyone involved.”
Tickets for the Marisa Rose Bowl can be purchased for $10 at the gate on game day or at Steve Libro Field during regularly scheduled practices.
Following are some of the ways The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has assisted pediatric patients and children in need.
Partnered with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, a highly respected Morristown-based nonprofit, to provide fully funded grants to make visits from certified therapy dogs available to schools, libraries, and other facilities serving children.
In honor of Edison High School’s graduating Class of 2021, of which Marisa would have been a part, our nonprofit made 10 separate donations of $2,021 – totaling $20,210 – to organizations who share The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s mission of helping Middlesex County children in need.
Donated $8,000 through the first annual Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association charity golf outing, of which our nonprofit was the beneficiary, to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital’s Child Life Program.
Partnered with the Give-Back Initiative to donate gift cards valued at $100 each to 44 Edison Township families in need, helping them purchase food, necessities and presents during the holiday season.
Provided Thanksgiving Day dinners to patients and their families at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.
As a way of giving back to the Greater Middlesex Conference, which has been among our nonprofit’s biggest supporters, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation jump-started the league’s fundraising effort to feed county families during the coronavirus pandemic with a $2,500 donation to the Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Distribution Services.
Provided funding for a part-time healthcare social worker to assist families of pediatric patients under the care of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Pediatric Cardiology.
Partnered with the Colonia High School football team to tackle a Super Bowl-themed community service project that benefited pediatric patients and their families at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.
Donated to Women Aware’s PALS Program, which offers counseling for children (ages 3-12) and supportive services including individual and group creative arts therapy counseling sessions to families who have been victimized by domestic violence and abuse.
Sponsored more than 80 South Brunswick High School student-athletes, who donated their time and youthful energy to participate in a charity kickball tournament benefiting an inspirational boy living with an incurable and terminal disease.
Established a fund at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, from which Marisa received outstanding care for her entire life, to provide financial support to families of pediatric patients from Middlesex County in medical crisis by helping to pay medical, personal or incidental expenses.
Partnered with Woodbridge High School through its “Pictures with Santa” event to make an $1,800 financial and gift card donation to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital in support of the hospital’s virtual toy drive.
Donated a total of $3,000 to PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital and the Lakeview School in honor of the football players and cheerleaders who would have participated in the 27th annual Middlesex-Union County All-Star Game, a charity event which the coronavirus pandemic canceled.
Donated to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital’s newly established extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program, a specialized cardiac and respiratory support system that saved Marisa’s life at another medical facility following her heart transplant.
Conducted a boardwalk-themed Family Fun Night for consecutive years at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital, where the sights, sounds and smells of the Jersey Shore were brought to patients and their families through carnival games, food, prizes, music and more.
Partnered with the Give-Back Initiative to donate $4,000 to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick for the purchase of iPads, as well as age and developmentally appropriate toys and games for pediatric patients.
Partnered with Teamwork Unlimited Foundation to treat Special Olympics athletes from the Raritan Bay Area YMCA to a Somerset Patriots game experience.
Partnered with the Saint Joseph High School football program and campus ministry to pack and donate more than 200 “Weekend Snack Bags” for pediatric patients’ families at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.
Funded the purchase of uniforms (shirts and shorts) for campers at Kiddie Keep Well Camp, which serves more than 600 underserved Middlesex County children annually.
Partially funded the Make-A-Wish of a Middlesex County girl who was born with a complex cardiac defect to vacation with her family at Walt Disney World.
Provided summer art camp scholarships to Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum for 13 Middlesex County elementary and middle school students.
Provided college scholarships to 31 high school students whose classroom performance and extracurricular involvement reflected Marisa’s educational success and whose charitable endeavors aligned with our foundation’s mission.
Sponsored a Middlesex County elementary school’s field trip to Special Strides Therapeutic Riding Center in Monroe, where students from self-contained autistic classes were afforded the opportunity to interact with horses and baby goats.
Partnered with Woodbridge High School, the Central Jersey bowling community and the Port Reading Fire Department and EMS to deliver more than 1,000 toys to patients at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital during the holiday season.
Commemorated National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day with a donation to the CHOP Cardiac Center at Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick and to Team Laney Bug.
As a way of giving back to the Rutgers University baseball program, whose roster features several players that have supported our nonprofit, our foundation matched the Scarlet Knights’ fundraising efforts with a donation to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital’s child life program.
Assisted multiple families whose children are in medical crisis, providing financial support through the payment of medical and/or personal expenses. Respecting their privacy, the foundation never divulges the names of those individuals or the dollar amount of assistance it provides.
Paid forward the generosity Saint Thomas Aquinas High School has bestowed upon our foundation with a donation to the school community’s annual Ahr Star spaghetti dinner, whose beneficiaries included a 9-year-old boy from Middlesex County with multiple disabilities.
Donated $3,000 to RWJBarnabas Health’s children’s hospitals, paying forward the kindness of football players and coaches who support our nonprofit and in honor of their ability to navigate a pandemic-impacted season.
Partnered with the Edison and J.P. Stevens high school girls basketball teams to collect baby care items to donate to the Edison-based Ozanam Family Shelter.
Partnered with the Middlesex County Association of School Administrators to offer financial relief to parents of children in medical crisis who lost wages while caring for their child at the hospital, who lack health insurance or whose insurance provider won’t cover certain medical expenses.
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 Old Bridge and South Brunswick high schools to collect thousands of toys for pediatric patients at Saint Peter’s University Children’s Hospital and Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital.
Partnered with the Kittim N. Sherrod Foundation to provide a youth football and cheerleading organization with a bilingual 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 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.
Partially funded the Make-A-Wish of a Middlesex County boy who is winning a battle with high-risk neuroblastoma to vacation with his family at Walt Disney World.
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.
Partnered with Edison High School and the Chamberlain College of Nursing for two consecutive years to raise money and collect nonperishable food items to benefit Middlesex County children and their families through Hands of Hope via our foundation’s participation in the Race to Outrun Hunger.
Provided new iPads and gaming system accessories (Xbox and PS4 games, controllers, chargers) for adolescent patients at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital.
Partnered with Woodbridge High School and the Central Jersey bowling community to deliver hundreds of toys to patients at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, where Marisa underwent a successful heart transplant.
Made a donation in recognition of Piscataway’s Conackamack Middle School, which honored Marisa during its annual Turkey Trot, to the township’s FISH Hospitality Program, which provides shelter, meals, clothing and other services to homeless families in Middlesex County.
Provided James Monroe Elementary School students with food items to fill a hundred “Weekend Snack Bags” for pediatric patients’ families.
Donated more than $2,500 worth of ShopRite, Target and Walmart gift cards to dozens of Middlesex County families in need, helping parents purchase food, necessities and presents for their children during the holiday season.
In honor of the players and coaches who participated in the Soccer for a Cause Charity Festival, our nonprofit made a $1,000 donation to REPLENISH, a regional food bank serving Middlesex County residents including an estimated 30,000 children.
Provided meals and goods for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Jersey.
Partnered with Middlesex High School to conduct a coat drive for Middlesex County children.
Provided gift cards for pediatric patients and their families.