On a day when Edison police gathered outside headquarters, paying respect to a late fellow officer before embarking on the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics New Jersey, the department’s union, Edison PBA Local 75, surprised The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s leadership with a generous donation to the nonprofit.

Captain Jason Gerba made the announcement during a ceremony prior to the run, which Edison dedicated to Detective Sergeant Jeff Tierney, a highly respected and beloved officer who served the township for more than two decades before losing a courageous battle with cancer six months ago.

A devoted family man who loved spending time with his wife, Jenn, and their children, Kyle and Lyla, Tierney was 52 years old.

The 30-plus Edison police officers participating in the torch run wore two commemorative wristbands, one honoring Tierney and the other honoring Marisa Tufaro and the foundation bearing her name.

Marisa Tufaro, who would have graduated last year from Edison High School, survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.

An honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities, Marisa lived a vibrant life that inspired.

The foundation established in her loving memory is a fitting way to keep alive Marisa’s indomitable spirit and allow her legacy to be one of helping others.

Since its inception less than five years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated a quarter of a million dollars to assist 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 foundation has awarded $21,500 in academic scholarships to 31 inspirational high school seniors.

“On a day when the Edison police are running with heavy hearts and in honor of Jeff Tierney while raising funds for the amazing cause of Special Olympics New Jersey, my wife, Cyndi, and I were moved beyond words to learn about Edison PBA Local 75’s generous donation to The Marisa Tufaro Foundation,” said Marisa’s father, Greg.

“Captain Gerba and his entire family have been incredibly supportive of our family and Marisa’s foundation, as have so many township police officers. The benevolence of the entire department genuinely knows no bounds. Edison PBA Local 75 dedicates itself to countless causes and has an omnipresence throughout our community. As lifelong township residents, Cyndi and I are eternally grateful. Our thoughts and prayers are also with Jeff Tierney’s family and friends and all those who selflessly serve and protect.”

More than 3,000 officers from approximately 400 police departments statewide joined Edison’s contingent for Friday’s Torch Run, a 26-leg marathon spanning 750 miles across 300-plus towns to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics New Jersey.

Special Olympics New Jersey provides free year-round sports training and athletic competition in 24 Olympic-style sports for thousands of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Through the joy and power of sports, athletes are afforded opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and build friendships with other Special Olympians.

Since its inception in 1984, the Law Enforcement Torch Run has raised millions of dollars for Special Olympics New Jersey.

The Edison Police Department has been among the state’s Top 10 fundraisers each of the past three years with Gerba and co-coordinator Robert Dudash Jr., Edison’s deputy chief, leading the effort.

Last year, Edison was the state’s second leading fundraiser, collecting a department-record for donations. As a result, the township’s name was listed for a third consecutive year along with nine other departments on the back of the Torch Run T-shirt, a prestigious honor.

The Edison police received the torch – referred to as the “Flame of Hope” – from Woodbridge officers before embarking on a 6.2-mile trek along Route 27. The Edison Police Department ran alongside peers from Metuchen for a stretch and eventually passed the torch to Highland Park officers, who continued the journey toward The College of New Jersey, site of the New Jersey Special Olympics opening ceremony and games.

Tierney looked forward to participating in the Torch Run. He enjoyed training for and participating in Spartan Races and Tough Mudder events. Proud to serve and protect his hometown, Tierney was loyal to his brothers and sisters in blue and considered them his second family.

With eloquence and grace, Tierney’s wife and daughter each delivered poignant remarks during the pre-run ceremony that resonated with attendees.

Dignitaries who also spoke during the ceremony included State Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., Assemblyman Rob Karabinchak, Edison Mayor Sam Joshi, Edison Council President Joe Coyle, Edison Council Vice President Joyce Ship-Freeman, New Jersey State PBA President Pat Colligan and Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan.

“This event epitomized something (Tierney) always believed in,” Gerba said in the days leading up to the run. “It was the perfect event for him. Jeff was so charitable and so friendly.

“By everybody carrying that torch for Jeff this year, it’s going to mean a lot.”

THE FOUNDATION’S IMPACT

Following are some of the ways The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has served the community (please click on any of the hot links to read about the nonprofit’s initiatives).

Provided fully funded grants to make certified therapy dogs available through Creature Comfort Pet Therapy to schools, public libraries, and other facilities that serve children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

Commemorated National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day with a donation to the CHOP Cardiac Center at Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick and to Team Laney Bug.

In honor of Edison High School’s graduating Class of 2021, of which Marisa would have been a part, our nonprofit made 10 separate donations of $2,021 – totaling $20,210 – to organizations who share The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s mission of helping Middlesex County children in need.

Donated $8,000 through the first annual Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association charity golf outing, of which our nonprofit was the beneficiary, to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital’s Child Life Program.

Partnered with the Give-Back Initiative to donate gift cards valued at $100 each to 44 Edison Township families in need, helping them purchase food, necessities and presents during the holiday season.

Provided Thanksgiving Day dinners to patients and their families at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.

As a way of giving back to the Greater Middlesex Conference, which has been among our nonprofit’s biggest supporters, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation jump-started the league’s fundraising effort to feed county families during the coronavirus pandemic with a $2,500 donation to the Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Distribution Services.

Provided funding for a part-time healthcare social worker to assist families of pediatric patients under the care of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Pediatric Cardiology.

Partnered with the Colonia High School football team to tackle a Super Bowl-themed community service project that benefited pediatric patients and their families at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.

Donated to Women Aware’s PALS Program, which offers counseling for children ages 3 through 12 and supportive services including individual and group creative arts therapy counseling sessions to families who have been victimized by domestic violence and abuse.

Sponsored more than 80 South Brunswick High School student-athletes, who donated their time and youthful energy to participate in a charity kickball tournament benefiting an inspirational boy living with an incurable and terminal disease.

Established a fund at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, from which Marisa received outstanding care for her entire life, to provide financial support to families of pediatric patients from Middlesex County in medical crisis by helping to pay medical, personal, or incidental expenses.

Partnered with Woodbridge High School through its “Pictures with Santa” event to make an $1,800 financial and gift card donation to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital in support of the hospital’s virtual toy drive.

Donated a total of $3,000 to PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital and the Lakeview School in honor of the football players and cheerleaders who would have participated in the 27th annual Middlesex-Union County All-Star Game, a charity event which the coronavirus pandemic canceled.

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.

Conducted a boardwalk-themed Family Fun Night for consecutive years at PSE&G 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 the Give-Back Initiative to donate $4,000 to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick for the purchase iPads, as well as age and developmentally appropriate toys and games for pediatric patients.

Partnered with Teamwork Unlimited Foundation to treat Special Olympics athletes from the Raritan Bay Area YMCA to a Somerset Patriots game experience.

Partnered with the Saint Joseph High School football program and campus ministry to pack and donate more than 200 “Weekend Snack Bags” for pediatric patients’ families at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.

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.

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.

Provided summer art camp scholarships to Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum for 13 Middlesex County elementary and middle school students.

Provided college scholarships to 31 high school students whose classroom performance and extracurricular involvement reflected Marisa’s educational success and whose charitable endeavors aligned with our foundation’s mission.

Sponsored a Middlesex County elementary school’s field trip to Special Strides Therapeutic Riding Center in Monroe, where students from self-contained autistic classes were afforded the opportunity to interact with horses and baby goats.

Partnered with Woodbridge High School, the Central Jersey bowling community and the Port Reading Fire Department and EMS to deliver more than 1,000 toys to patients at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital during the holiday season.

As a way of giving back to the Rutgers University baseball program, whose roster features several players that have supported our nonprofit, our foundation matched the Scarlet Knights’ fundraising efforts with a donation to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital’s child life program.

Assisted multiple families whose children are in medical crisis, providing financial support through the payment of medical and/or personal expenses. Respecting their privacy, the foundation never divulges the names of those individuals or the dollar amount of assistance it provides.

Paid forward the generosity Saint Thomas Aquinas High School has bestowed upon our foundation with a donation to the school community’s annual Ahr Star spaghetti dinner, whose beneficiaries included a 9-year-old boy from Middlesex County with multiple disabilities.

Donated $3,000 to RWJBarnabas Health’s children’s hospitals, paying forward the kindness of football players and coaches who support our nonprofit and in honor of their ability to navigate a pandemic-impacted season.

Partnered with the Edison and J.P. Stevens high school girls basketball teams to collect baby care items to donate to the Edison-based Ozanam Family Shelter.

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 insurance provider won’t cover certain medical expenses.

Funded the purchase of brand-new metal bunk beds 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.

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.

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.

Partnered with Woodbridge High School and the Central Jersey bowling community to deliver hundreds of toys to patients at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, where Marisa underwent a successful heart transplant.

Made a donation in recognition of Piscataway’s Conackamack Middle School, which honored Marisa during its annual Turkey Trot, to the township’s FISH Hospitality Program, which provides shelter, meals, clothing and other services to homeless families in Middlesex County.

Provided James Monroe Elementary School students with food items to fill a hundred “Weekend Snack Bags” for pediatric patients’ families.

Donated more than $2,500 worth of ShopRite, Target and Walmart gift cards to dozens of Middlesex County families in need, helping parents purchase food, necessities and presents for their children during the holiday season.

In honor of the players and coaches who participated in the Soccer for a Cause Charity Festival, our nonprofit made a $1,000 donation to REPLENISH, a regional food bank serving Middlesex County residents including an estimated 30,000 children.

Paid tribute to the late Ron Mazzola, cancer survivor Jake Koppel and the caring Spotswood school-community with a donation to the Division of Hematology/Oncology at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital.

Sponsored 60 Greater Middlesex Conference golfers to participate in the Tee Off Against Hunger to benefit the Hands of Hope, a nonprofit that combats hunger in Middlesex County.

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.