The first annual Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association (GMCBCA) Charity Golf Outing, sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, which benefited The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, was a resounding success.
“The event was extraordinary for a multitude of reasons,” said Cyndi Tufaro, co-executive director of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
“The incredible generosity and enthusiasm of the participants, the remarkable benevolence of our sponsors including Bagel Boy of Old Bridge and Hott Carl’s Pizza of Matawan, the support of our volunteers, the congeniality of those working at the golf course, and even the weather all contributed to a remarkable day.”
The event, conducted June 13 at Bunker Hill Golf Course in Princeton, generated $8,000 for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which donated the money last week during a formal check presentation to the Child Life Program of Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick.
The donation has special meaning to the Tufaro family because Marisa benefited immensely from child life services during hospitalizations at multiple medical centers, including BMSCH, and because she was under the loving care for her entire life of Joseph Gaffney, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Division Chief, Pediatric Cardiology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
The Child Life Program at BMSCH is available to assist patients and families in making the hospital experience positive by helping with the overall adjustment to hospitalization, illness or injury, and treatment.
The hospital’s team of child life specialists is specially trained to help children and their families understand and manage challenging life events and stressful healthcare experiences. Specialists provide developmental, educational and therapeutic interventions that support growth and development, recognize family strengths and individuality, and respect different methods of coping.
At BMSCH hospital, child life specialists provide: age-appropriate preparation for surgery, medical procedures, tests and treatments; hands-on learning experiences to teach children and siblings about all aspects of hospitalization; therapeutic art and recreational sessions in the activity centers and at the bedside; activities to help “normalize” the hospital stay, including play, special events, holiday celebrations and parties; emotional support to help patients and family members minimize the stress that often surrounds hospitalization; as well as guided imagery, relaxation and distraction sessions.
The hospital’s leadership, including Barbara Romito, Director of Child Life at BMSCH, met last week with representatives of the GMCBCA including Vinnie Abene of Edison, Matt Donaghue of Old Bridge, CJ Hendricks of South Brunswick, and Dan Poulsen of South Amboy to thank the coaches association for its amazing fundraising efforts.
“This donation comes at the perfect time because the past year and a half has really challenged how we provide emotional and psycho-social care,” Romito said, referring to the coronavirus’ impact on the hospital, which had to rethink, for example, utilization of its playrooms, normally open for group play and activities.
“We do a lot of one-on-one interactions (in person and virtually), but to do that we need computer equipment, we need iPads, we need games and toys that are one-time use and given to children instead of sharing them in groups,” Romito said. “So, the funds have never been more important to us. This donation will help us to meet those needs and continue to make the hospitalization as joyful as we can.”
Romito told the coaches representing the GMCBCA that the fruits of their charity golf outing “makes all the difference to the children and their families” and that the hospital is “so grateful.”
She noted that the donation has added meaning because it came from The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which has enjoyed a long-standing partnership with BMSCH and RWJBarnabas Health.
Marisa, who would have graduated this year from 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 on Jan. 30, 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.
Registration for the charity golf outing was conducted privately through the GMCBCA. Nearly 100 golfers participated in the outing.
The event included golf with cart, breakfast, lunch, a commemorative polo shirt, refreshments and snacks on the course, golf favors and a donation from The Marisa Tufaro Foundation to BMSCH in the name of each participant.
Bagel Boy on 2329 Highway 516 in Old Bridge provided a wonderful breakfast, Hott Carl’s Pizza of Matawan provided an outstanding lunch and Ron Mazzola of Prestige Imaging in Old Bridge assisted the GMCBCA in providing commemorative polo shirts.
Prizes were awarded for closest-to-the-pin and longest drive contests, as well as for a closest-to-the-pin contest using a fungo bat and a hole-in-one contest.
Established on July 30, 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has already made a profound impact, donating nearly $225,000 to help pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
The tax-exempt nonprofit, which makes community service an integral part of its mission, has also spearheaded multiple initiatives, resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter coats, baby supplies and other items for donation upon which the foundation has placed no monetary value.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has assisted 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 or caring for a child at home.
The foundation has awarded 31 college academic scholarships in Marisa’s name to high school seniors and an additional 13 scholarships for elementary and middle school students to attend a week-long 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 GMC-wide all-star games and tournaments in which student-athletes from the entire league have participated.
The GMCBCA has been among the foundation’s biggest supporters.
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 four years ago (please click on any of the hotlinks below to read about each endeavor).
- 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 3-12) 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 scholarship dollars to 25 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.
- 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.