Of all the words three ambitious fourth-graders from Martin Luther King Elementary School in Edison authored for a flyer to promote their fundraiser for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, one phrase stood out.
“You may be small,” the flyer proclaims in part, “but you can make a big difference!”
Leo Mayzel, Mugilan Ananthu and Idris Lakdawala approached Principal Regina Arnold with their desire to help children in the community.
Mrs. Arnold offered the students her full support, provided they conducted independent research and found a worthwhile beneficiary.
The trio of students searched the internet and found a website for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to help children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
After scheduling a follow-up appointment with their principal, Leo, Mugilan and Idris – laptop computer in hand – met with Mrs. Arnold and told her they wanted to raise money for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
Their well-wrought plan involved devising a flyer for distribution to all of the elementary school’s third- through fifth-grade classes, each of which the trio visited over a two-day stretch to explain and promote their fundraising concept.
The home room that raised the most money in the weeklong contest – which wound up being that of the trio – would receive a principal-sponsored ice cream or popsicle party.
“Let’s end the 2018-2019 school year the right way by helping children in need!” the flyer read. “From Thursday, May 30th until Thursday, June 6th, we are asking for your help to raise money for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.”
A link to The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s website was contained on the flyer, along with a reader-friendly form allowing students and their parents to document donations.
Daily announcements were made during the weeklong contest, informing students about which home room was leading the fundraiser, a gimmick the trio concocted to spark competition.
“You can give a dollar or a gazillion,” the boys told students across the 16 competing home rooms.
Martin Luther King Elementary School’s fundraising efforts came closer to a “gazillion” dollars as the students’ haul of coins, cash and checks – neatly arranged in a box – weighed a whopping 13 pounds!
The outstanding collection of more than $700 was worthy of an armored truck escort to the local savings and loan.
Greg Tufaro, who established The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, along with his wife Cyndi, in loving memory of their daughter, Marisa, was privileged to meet all of the students, including Leo, Mugilan and Idris, in Amanda Ramirez’s fourth-grade classroom. He presented each with a commemorative foundation wristband and was impressed with the maturity and grace that all the students displayed.
In addition to raising money to assist pediatric patients and other children in need, the ambitious trio sparked philanthropy among classmates, several of who have already approached Mrs. Arnold with their own fundraising ideas.
From saving the turtles to donating locks of hair, Martin Luther King Elementary School students are looking for new ways to give back to the community.
Mrs. Arnold might want to spend her summer clipping coupons for ice cream and popsicles.
Sounds like she might have more fundraising parties to celebrate next year.
Following are hot links to stories detailing several of the many ways our foundation has assisted pediatric patients and other children in need since its inception on July 30, 2017.
- 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 provider won’t cover certain medical expenses.
- Partnered with Woodbridge High School and the Central Jersey bowling community to deliver hundreds of toys to pediatric patients at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, where Marisa underwent a successful heart transplant.
- 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.
- Made a donation in honor of Piscataway’s Conackamack Middle School, which honored Marisa during its 27th annual Turkey Trot, to the township’s FISH Hospitality Program, which provides shelter, meals, clothing and other services to homeless families in Middlesex County.
- Paid forward the generosity Bishop Ahr High School has bestowed upon our foundation with a donation to the school-community’s 21st annual Ahr Star spaghetti dinner, whose beneficiaries included a 9-year-old boy from Middlesex County with multiple disabilities.
- 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.
- 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.
- Conducted a boardwalk-themed Family Fun Night at 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 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.
- Funded the purchase of brand new metal bunk beds and for campers at Kiddie Keep Well Camp, which serves more than 600 underserved Middlesex County children annually.
- 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.
- 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 (press release pending).
- Provided summer art camp scholarships to Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum for Middlesex County elementary and middle school students.
- Rewarded high school students for their community service to children with scholarships.
- Provided meals and goods for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Jersey.
- Provided scholarships to Greater Middlesex Conference student-athletes whose academic performance and extracurricular involvement reflects Marisa’s educational success and whose charitable endeavors align with our foundation’s mission.
- Partnered with Middlesex High School to conduct a coat drive for Middlesex County children.
- Provided gift cards for pediatric patients and their families.