Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen is conducting a fundraiser and accompanying flag football game between senior varsity gridiron stars and other varsity student-athletes to benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

In the days leading up to the game, which will be played Friday at the Brenner Family Field, the high school’s student council will be selling commemorative T-shirts for $12 each with all proceeds benefiting The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

Students will be permitted to wear the T-shirts to school while following campus casual guidelines on game day.

The T-shirts bear the interlocking Saint Joseph logo beneath a halo flanked by angel wings atop the words “MARISA’S MISSIONARIES” and “THE FALCON FLOCK FLIES WITH AN ANGEL TO SUPPORT THE MARISA TUFARO FOUNDATION.”

Since its inception just over five years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has made a profound impact, donating more than a quarter of a million dollars to assist pediatric patients and underserved children 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 $26,500 in academic scholarships to 38 Middlesex County high school seniors including recent Saint Joseph graduates Thomas Freda and Michael Weikum.

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 (post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder) in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.

Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, Marisa was an honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired. Marisa is the daughter of Greg (Saint Joseph Class of ’85) and Cyndi Tufaro.

Saint Joseph has been among The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s biggest supporters, playing an enormous role in helping the nonprofit fulfill its mission.

Earlier this year, the high school hosted the Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s Tournament of Roses Parade. The charity walk and food drive was held three days before the inaugural Bellamy and Sons Paving Marisa Rose Bowl. The charity all-star football game featured recently graduated high school seniors including former Falcons Anthony Roige and Christian Solino, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

“This really validates what everyone already knows about the tremendous reputation Saint Joe’s has and what the faculty and staff encourage their boys to do,” State Senator Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr., who serves on The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees, said of the school’s commitment to host the Tournament of Roses Parade. “Saint Joe’s is exemplary in rallying around causes and helping others.”

Sports programs from the high school, including its basketball, bowling, ice hockey, swimming, football, golf, and baseball teams, have joined the Saint Joseph Campus Ministry and student council to make significant contributions to The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

  • Baseball players from Saint Joseph joined their peers across the conference in wearing commemorative purple wristbands bearing Marisa’s initials in the months after her passing.
  • Basketball and baseball players from the school have competed in charity all-star games benefiting the foundation.
  • The bowling team twice participated in the Marisa Tufaro Classic and the swimming team took part in an annual swim-a-thon, with money raised from both events benefiting the nonprofit.
  • The football program honored the memory of Marisa and conducted a fundraiser for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation during home games in consecutive seasons. In addition to donating the gate from those contests, Saint Joseph also donated all proceeds from the sale of specially designed commemorative T-shirts.
  • Student-athletes from the school participated in a 2019 intramural flag football championship game that raised money for the foundation.
  • The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was the beneficiary of the ice hockey team’s latest annual fundraising game, which generated donations for the nonprofit.
  • Members of the golf team participated as sponsored guests of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, donating their time and skill in the Tee Off Against Hunger, an event that served as a fundraiser for a local food pantry.
  • About two dozen Saint Joseph students, through the high school’s campus ministry, sacrificed their activity time during a Community Day to fill more than a hundred weekend snack bags for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation to distribute to families of pediatric patients at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.
  • Members of the football program participated in a similar community service project.

Frank Noppenberger, executive director of the Greater Middlesex Conference, of which the Falcons are a member, commended the Saint Joseph administration and entire school-community for its continued support of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

“It’s rewarding to see schools paying it forward,” said Noppenberger, who also serves on the foundation’s board of trustees.

“The unique thing about athletics and schools is they always take care of their own, and Saint Joseph in this case is once again helping out Greg and The Marisa Tufaro Foundation in yet another unforgettable way.”