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 to be held Dec. 2 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 will be conducted in a best-of-three team game format followed by baker format best-of-five competition for the top four teams in each division to determine the champion.
Awards for boys and girls will be presented to the team champions and runners-up in each division, as well as to the three bowlers with the highest individual game and the three bowlers who roll the highest series in each division.
Proceeds from the event, at which bowlers and their coaches are invited to donate new and unwrapped toys for children in need this holiday season, will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
Before the pandemic, the Marisa Tufaro Classic was conducted beginning in 2018 for consecutive years.
The wildly successful event, which Woodbridge head coach Amanda Small founded and continues to run with support from her high school and school district, generated well over a thousand toys for pediatric patients the first two years.
This year, the Marisa Tufaro Foundation will donate the collected toys to Hands of Hope for the Community to distribute as holiday presents to children in need. Since its inception, the foundation and Hands of Hope for the Community, which operates out of St. James Episcopal Church in Edison, have enjoyed a longstanding partnership.
Until the pandemic struck, distributing holiday toys to its clients was an annual tradition of Hands of Hope for the Community.
“It’s been over three years since we had our last toy giveaway because of COVID,” said Middlesex County Commissioner Charlie Tomaro, who serves as Hands of Hope for the Community’s president. “With COVID, we were handling things a lot differently.”
Tomaro said he and his board members are elated to be able to bring back the holiday toy giveaway.
“It’s going to be tremendous to be able to give toys to all our clients’ children,” Tomaro said. “We are really looking forward to the Dec. 2 event and showing up to thank the bowlers and their coaches for what they are doing.”
Hands of Hope for the Community, whose mission includes alleviating food insecurity throughout Middlesex County, will award free entry to the tournament-winning boys and girls teams to its annual Tee Off Against Hunger charity golf outing at TopGolf in Edison on April, 7, 2023. Those bowlers will receive three hours of golf, a hot lunch buffet, bottomless beverages, and tickets for raffle prizes.
“In past years, when we had our toy giveaway, every pew (at St. James Episcopal Church) was filled,” Tomaro said. “It’s been a really great event for our clients and we feel lucky to be able to do it again.”
Tomaro thanked Small for orchestrating the Marisa Tufaro Classic. A Woodbridge High School alumna who was a 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.”
Following the 2018 Marisa Tufaro Classic, Greater Middlesex Conference Executive Director Frank Noppenberger joined Small and Ward in delivering the donated toys to a children’s hospital.
“What Amanda, Woodbridge Township, the participating teams and the bowling community as a whole accomplished during the first two years of the Marisa Tufaro Classic was nothing short of amazing,” Noppenberger said.
“All of the coaches and their bowlers rallied around the cause to make a profound impact on children in need. I have been privileged to join Amanda and others from Woodbridge High School in bringing the toys to a children’s hospital and the gift of giving truly fills your heart with holiday joy. Everyone who takes part in this amazing event is to be commended for doing great things in the community.”
Established in its namesake’s loving memory six years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $300,000 to fulfill its mission.
The nonprofit has also spearheaded multiple initiatives resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter coats, baby supplies, school supplies, and other items for donation upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In addition, the foundation has awarded 42 college academic scholarships totaling $29,500 in Marisa’s name to high school seniors and an additional 20 scholarships for elementary and middle school students to attend 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 the Marisa Rose Bowl, the Greater Middlesex Conference All-Star basketball doubleheader, 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 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.”