Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa Tufaro lived with a medical condition that restricted her from some physical activity, but never prevented her from bowling.
Marisa, who died in 2017 at the age of 13 from a rare form of cancer following six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant, enjoyed her time at Stelton Lanes in Piscataway and at Milford Lanes in Delaware during family vacations.
Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and attending hundreds of doctors’ appointments, Marisa was an Edison Township Public Schools honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities.
She is the inspiration behind the Marisa Tufaro Classic, a season-opening bowling tournament and holiday toy drive to be held Dec. 6 at Majestic Lanes in Woodbridge, where approximately 40 boys and girls high school teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference and elsewhere across the state will compete.
The tournament format will consist of three traditional team games. The girls and boys team with the highest total pinfall in each division will be crowned tournament champions.
Awards will be presented to the team champions and team runners-up and team third-place finishers in each division, as well as to the three girls and boys bowlers with the highest individual game and the three girls and boys bowlers who roll the highest series in each division.
Jim Gano of Crown Trophy in Flemington, who designed and gifted plaques for the last two tournaments, is once again generously donating awards for this year’s event.
Proceeds from the tournament will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation will distribute all of the new and unwrapped toys collected on the day of the event to pediatric patients at Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center and children in need who Hands of Hope for the Community serves this holiday season.
Toys donated to the hospital will meet the needs of pediatric inpatients and visitors to the hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department, who can benefit at any time from a diversion to help cope with the anxiety and pain that can accompany treatments, medical procedures, and extended admissions.
Parents of hospitalized children, some of whom are overwhelmed with medical bills and other related costs, may not be able to afford presents or are so consumed with caring for their ill child that shopping, even online, is not a possibility or a priority.
Toys donated to Hands of Hope for the Community will be distributed as holiday presents to Middlesex County children in need during an event in late December at Saint James Episcopal Church in Edison.
The wildly successful bowling tournament, which Amanda Small, as Woodbridge High School’s head coach, founded in 2018 and continues to run with support from the high school and school district, has generated thousands of toys for pediatric patients and children in need, as well as thousands of dollars for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
A Woodbridge High School alumna and member of her alma mater’s 2007 Tournament of Champions winning team, Small was also a Home News Tribune Bowler of the Year.
“Amanda wanted to offer another option for a holiday tournament to kick off the year, and she came up with the idea to host one in Woodbridge Township to benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation,” Woodbridge Athletics Director Joe Ward said. “We were 100 percent on board when she brought the idea to us. Amanda is hard-working and dedicated to the sport of bowling. She’s always looking to assist the school and the community in any way she can, and I think this is a great example of that.”
Since its inception in 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $400,000 to fulfill its mission.
In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has spearheaded numerous community initiatives resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, baby supplies, winter jackets, school supplies, children’s books, and other items for donation upon which the nonprofit has placed no monetary value.
The foundation has also awarded $36,500 in scholarships to high school seniors and sent 32 elementary and middle school students to a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is eternally grateful for the support it has received from Woodbridge High School, which has also hosted Greater Middlesex Conference all-star games in multiple sports, the Tecmo Bowl for Tufaro, and a Pictures with Santa event as fundraisers.
In addition, the school community has donated money raised from a dress down day and the entire gate from three of its football team’s home openers to the nonprofit. Countless student-athletes and coaches from multiple sports have participated in other fundraising events that benefited The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
“We’ve been blessed beyond words with amazing support from so many people, including the Woodbridge Township school community,” said Marisa’s mother, Cyndi Tufaro, who is also the foundation’s executive director.
“Our nonprofit doesn’t take a second donated or a penny raised for granted. The kindness and generosity of Woodbridge and the entire high school bowling community has been extraordinary.
“We hope their benevolence is exponentially returned.”
RECOMMENDED NEW AND UNWRAPPED TOYS FOR DONATION
Infant toys (toys that make noise, light up)
Infant mobiles, crib mirrors, crib music players
Toddler playsets (such as Little People)
Barbie, princesses, baby dolls
Play-Doh/Model Magic and tools
Arts and craft supplies, coloring books, crayons, and markers
Lego, Mega Bloks, K’NEX playsets
Matchbox, Hot Wheels cars and playsets
Uno cards, playing cards, other card games
Children’s books (hardcover or paperback)
Board books for babies
Books for young teens and teens
Board games
Action figures (non-violent)
Puzzles (25 to 100 pieces)
Electronic learning toys
Hand-held video games
Sports equipment (basketballs, football, soccer balls)
Educational games