As a young kid, Ciara Marsh accompanied her older brother Jake to Highland Park’s Buddy Ball, a Saturday program where special-needs kids partner up with volunteer peers for sports, games and other activities. She saw firsthand how much it did for Jake, who is neurodivergent.
“When he was younger, people were very dismissive of him,” Ciara said. “At Buddy Ball, it was different.”
When she got to Highland Park High School, Marsh decided to be a Buddy Ball volunteer. But she doesn’t just show up; she’ll bring a whole bunch of her track & field teammates – sometimes as many as 15 – with her each week after Saturday morning practice.
“Ciara has been a tremendous leader for Buddy Ball,” said Lis Landis, a special education teacher who oversees the program and is also an assistant track coach at Highland Park High School. “Everyone around her wants to do what she’s doing. Her influence has been incredible.”
That spirit makes her an ideal fit as one of two recipients of the 2024 Marisa Tufaro Memorial Community Service Scholarship. The $1,000 awards are bestowed by The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, a nonprofit that assists pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The foundation and scholarship’s namesake, Marisa Tufaro, was an Edison resident. Born with a complex cardiac defect that required six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant, she lived 13 inspirational years before succumbing in 2017 to a rare form of cancer following a valiant battle.
“For Ciara to receive this is an incredible honor and so well deserved,” Landis said. “She cares so deeply about the students at Buddy Ball, so it’s a very fitting award for her.”
Marsh, who will study business management at Rutgers in the fall, owns a 4.3 weighted grade-point average at Highland Park. In addition to captaining the track team, she played varsity volleyball, is a musician in the school’s concert band and manages the school’s store. She’s also involved in several clubs, including the Model United Nations.
It’s a busy life, but there’s always time for Buddy Ball.
“I love working with the kids, getting to know them and seeing them connect with each,” Marsh said. “That connection is important because I know they probably don’t have that in school.”
It worked wonders for her brother Jake, who is in college now. And it helped open Marsh’s eyes to becoming more understanding, tolerant and compassionate.
“Buddy Ball is such a great organization,” she said. “It’s given me so much. I can only imagine how much it’s given to other families.”
It’s hard to quantify Marsh’s impact, but here’s a telling example: Her track teammate Ennyn Chiu, who became a fellow Buddy Ball volunteer at Marsh’s behest, won the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Kindness Counts Award this spring. That came with a $500 check, which she promptly donated to Highland Park’s Buddy Ball program.
That’s a pretty cool coda for a kid who first showed up at age 4, participating so her brother wouldn’t go it alone.
“Every time we see someone come back and volunteer, it’s so meaningful that they believe in the organization like that,” Landis said. “It says a lot.”