The East Brunswick High School football program’s annual skills competition was held Saturday at Heavenly Farms as a benefit for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to help children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
Since its inception just over three years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $173,000 to assist pediatric patients and underserved children.
The nonprofit, which makes community service an integral part of its mission, has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, baby supplies, winter coats and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In conducting a fundraiser for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, the East Brunswick football program honored the nonprofit’s namesake – who died three years ago at the age of 13 following a valiant battle with a long illness – as a member of its Bear Den in memoriam.
Marisa’s father, Greg, is a sports writer for the Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com, and her mother, Cyndi, is a longtime Edison Township Public Schools’ educator. Greg and Cyndi established the nonprofit in their beautiful daughter’s loving memory.
The skills competition was tabbed “Claws for a Cause.”
Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., who serves on The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees and whose legislative district includes East Brunswick, praised the school-community for helping children in need.
“Kudos to East Brunswick,” Diegnan said. “This is an example of teaching kids to do the right thing.
“I have always believed sports is more than just a physical exercise. It actually teaches kids how to properly direct their energies, and this fundraiser is the embodiment of that focus.”
The skills competition – which involved a punt, pass and kick contest – took place less than 24 hours after the Bears dropped a hard-fought 14-3 decision to Sayreville in the regular-season finale for both schools.
“Last year was a great team-bonding event,” East Brunswick head football coach Andy Steinfeld said of the 2019 skills competition, which raised money for the high school’s Quarterback Club.
“This year,” Steinfeld said in the days leading up to the event, “I think the team-bonding aspect is going to be really good. I just want the kids to enjoy themselves, be with their teammates and raise money for a really good cause.”
Each of the participating players – all of who solicited donations through pledges per yard or a flat fee – got three chances at each event in the skills competition.
All received a complimentary commemorative T-shirt in the school’s official green and white colors. The words “CLAWS FOR A CAUSE” adorn the back of the T-shirt above a bear claw grasping a football and atop the alliterative phrase “Marisa’s Missionaries.” The front of the shirt displays the gridiron program’s official logo between the words EAST BRUNSWICK and FOOTBALL.
More than 50 players program-wide took part in last year’s skills competition, which was held before the start of the season. This year’s event was delayed to the end of the regular-season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A year ago, East Brunswick boasted the highest winning percentage the football program has posted since it went 6-4 during the 2010 campaign and equaled its victory total of the two previous seasons combined. The Bears are off to a 2-3 start this season with two of those defeats coming after opponents with a combined 8-2 record rallied from halftime deficits.
Frank Noppenberger, who serves on The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees and is also executive director of the Greater Middlesex Conference, of which East Brunswick is a member, praised the school-community.
“I think it’s a win-win situation for everybody involved,” said Noppenberger, who worked nearly four decades for East Brunswick Township Public Schools before retiring six years ago and recently returned to the high school to serve as its interim athletics director.
“In addition to raising money for the Tufaro Foundation, you develop team camaraderie among the football players and get them to learn what it’s like to pay it forward and do something to help someone else in need.”
Marisa, who would have been a senior 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 – known as post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) – 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.
Through the remarkable generosity of individuals who have donated or participated in fundraising events, the nonprofit has made a profound impact, enabling Marisa’s parents to pay forward the kindness of others.
The foundation has awarded 25 college academic scholarships in Marisa’s name to high school seniors and an additional 13 scholarships for middle school and elementary school students to attend a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
The nonprofit has benefited from dozens of fundraisers, some of which have become annual events, ranging in size from tiny lemonade stands on suburban streets to Greater Middlesex Conference-wide all-star games and tournaments in which student-athletes from the entire league have participated.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which is committed to being a source of comfort to hospitalized children and their families, as well as providing assistance to underserved children, has partnered with other local nonprofits who share its mission.
The foundation has aided multiple families whose children are in medical crisis, providing financial support through the payment of medical and/or personal expenses to help lessen the burden of parents who have lost wages while spending time at the hospital.
Marisa received outstanding care from the staff and physicians at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital and from some of the outpatient services Children’s Specialized Hospital provides.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has been blessed to give back to each of those medical centers.
The foundation has conducted several high-profile events including a boardwalk-themed Family Fun Night for pediatric patients and their families at a children’s hospital, a Day at the Ballpark for Special Olympic athletes and their families which Teamwork Unlimited Foundation co-sponsored, and two wildy successful toy drives, one in partnership with two football teams and another in concert with the high school bowling community.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s eight-member board of trustees includes Dr. Joseph Gaffney, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Division Chief, Pediatric Cardiology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
The nonprofit, which has been featured in numerous publications, including the print edition of the Boston Globe and online at USA TODAY, is a fitting way to keep alive Marisa’s indomitable spirit and to allow her legacy to be one of helping others.
In announcing a partnership earlier this year between The Marisa Tufaro Foundation and the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics, Rutgers Today featured the nonprofit.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital featured the foundation in an edition of its Healthy Together magazine, while Children’s Specialized Hospital profiled the nonprofit in an annual report.
News 12 New Jersey’s Della Crews featured The Marisa Tufaro Foundation on one of her weekly Spotlight New Jersey broadcasts.
As a small nonprofit, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation distinguishes itself from others, publishing complete stories about fundraising events and full profiles of scholarship recipients on its website. The foundation has published more than 200 stories, all of which are shared on the nonprofit’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Marisa’s parents are grateful beyond words for every penny and every second of time that has been donated to the nonprofit bearing their daughter’s name.
Following are some of the ways The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has helped pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area since its inception three years ago (please click on any of the hotlinks below to read about each endeavor).
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.
Provided meals and goods for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Jersey.
Partnered with Middlesex High School to conduct a coat drive for Middlesex County children.
Provided gift cards for pediatric patients and their families.