Conackamack Middle School in Piscataway added new twists to its 28th annual Turkey Trot, which was conducted this year as a color run through an obstacle course the day before Thanksgiving on school grounds.
The entry fee for each of the more than 100 students who participated in the event was the minimum donation of four nonperishable food items, all of which were donated to the township’s FISH Hospitality Program (FHP) in honor of Marisa Tufaro and the nonprofit bearing her name.
Conackamack’s Turkey Trot, held annually since 1992, has generated nearly 78,000 nonperishable food items for donation to local food banks since its inception, including the more than 1,800 items which staff and students donated at this year’s event.
All participants in the 2019 Turkey Trot wore purple headbands, reflecting Marisa Tufaro’s favorite color and the official color of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
Classmates of competitors cheered on the participants as they navigated the one-mile course and were showered with colored powder upon reaching each obstacle. Race winners in each class grade received medals.
Established just over two years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has already made a profound impact, donating more than $100,000 and spearheading multiple community initiatives to fulfill its mission of helping pediatric patients and other children in need 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 awards college scholarship dollars to exceptional high school students who advance the nonprofit’s mission, and provides elementary and middle school students with scholarships to attend a weeklong summer camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
Three students from the Piscataway school district – recent high school graduates Gabriel Rodrigues and Emma Broggi, as well as current elementary school student Giselle Rodrigues – are among the nonprofit’s scholarship winners.
For years, the Tufaro family has donated clothing to FHP, which provides shelter, meals, clothing and other services to homeless families and single women in Middlesex County.
Marisa frequently accompanied her parents to FHP’s headquarters on New Market Road to drop off those items, thus Conackamack’s donation to FHP in Marisa’s honor and memory has special meaning.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is making a monetary donation in honor of Conackamack’s students and staff to FHP, whose mission is to give those it serves an opportunity to live independently in their communities as respected families and individuals. As resources allow, FHP assists and enables its guests to obtain housing, jobs, medical services and other assistance to which they are entitled.
Kevin Donahue, a recently retired physical education teacher at Conackamack and former assistant girls basketball coach at Piscataway High School, who knew Marisa’s father, Greg, a sports writer with the Home News Tribune, broached the idea a year ago of donating the nonperishable collections in honor of Marisa with his teaching partners, Johanna Reid, Justin Strasser and Matt Caulkin.
Piscataway Township Schools Superintendent Dr. Frank Ranelli, Conackamack Principal Donna DeAngelis White, Conackamack Acting Dean of Students James Overton, Piscataway Township Schools Athletic Director and Supervisor of 9-12 Physical Education and Health Rob Harmer, and Piscataway Township Schools Assistant Athletic Director and Supervisor of K-8 Physical Education and Health Julie Schick supported and embraced the Turkey Trot.
Over the past two years, Piscataway high school student-athletes in a multitude of sports including swimming, bowling, baseball, basketball, football and wrestling, have supported The Marisa Tufaro Foundation through their participation in Greater Middlesex Conference-wide events of which the nonprofit has been a beneficiary.
Piscataway assistant football coach John Thompson, his wife Terri and several of the high school’s gridiron players have volunteered at the foundation’s boardwalk-themed Family Fun Night at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick each of the past two years.
Last month, the Piscataway High School Booster Club conducted a fundraiser for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation during the varsity football team’s regular-season finale.
Venerable Star Ledger sports writer Mike Kinney, whose son, Mike Jr., teaches history at Conackamack, and whose wife, Eileen, teaches kindergarten at Knollwood Elementary School, said the district’s remarkable generosity and willingness to give back is a reflection of the entire school community.
“I think it’s a reflection of Piscataway in general, at least as far as my experience here, and I’ve been here for 36 years,” Kinney said. “One of the greatest things that happened to me was meeting my wife and moving here. I came in as an outsider and I found a town that has a huge heart. One of their greatest joys is giving back to the community that raised them.”
Marisa, who would have been a junior this year at Edison High School, was born with a complex cardiac defect that required six open-heart surgeries. Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, she lived a vibrant life that inspired. After her sixth surgery, Marisa developed two life-threatening conditions that necessitated a heart transplant. A postoperative complication developed into a rare form of cancer that riddled her brain and body. Marisa succumbed to her illness following a valiant battle on Jan. 30, 2017. She was just 13 years old.
Greg Tufaro, who attended the Turkey Trot, and his wife Cyndi, the principal at James Monroe Elementary School in Edison, were deeply touched by Conackamack’s incredible thoughtfulness and generosity.
The school’s students and staff have helped keep alive Marisa’s indomitable spirit and allow her legacy to continue to be one of helping others.