The Greater Middlesex Conference swimming community is pooling its resources to make a splash for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

Student-athletes from the league’s high school teams will participate in a swim event with all proceeds benefiting the tax-exempt nonprofit, whose mission is to help children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

Established just 16 months ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has already made a profound impact, donating more than $50,000 and spearheading multiple community initiatives to help pediatric patients and other children in need, as well as awarding college scholarship dollars to exceptional high school students who advance the nonprofit’s mission.

The Raritan Bay Area YMCA of Perth Amboy is providing its state-of-the art facility including a 10-lane competition pool for the event, which will be held Dec. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Several club programs from across the county and members of the Special Olympics New Jersey Area 5 team will join an anticipated 350-plus scholastic swimmers who, instead of competing against one another, will be joining forces for a common cause.

“As much as we are trying to create awareness and raise money for the foundation, it’s also a way to bring all the teams and all the swimmers and all the coaches together for a fun purpose,” said Kate Dauphinee, the head coach at Mother Seton Regional High School who worked with Metuchen High School Athletics Director John Cathcart and Raritan Bay Area YMCA President and CEO Steve Jobin to organize the event.

All participants will receive a T-shirt in their respective school colors, which Lauren Piovoso, a Metuchen High School swimmer, specially designed for the event, as well as a complimentary silicone wristband, courtesy of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

The front of the T-shirt features an image of a butterfly swimmer flanked by two hearts beneath a halo. The words “Greater Middlesex Conference Swimming” and “Helping Middlesex County Children in Need” also adorn the front of the T-shirt.

The phrase “Marisa’s Minnows” appears on the back of the T-shirt above the words “GMC Swimmers Pool their Resources to Support The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.” The names of all 18 of the conference’s high school swim teams encircle that message.

Piovoso said she elected to use the butterfly stroke in her design because one of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s mantras is that those who support the nonprofit “fly with an angel.”

“I incorporated the hearts as angel’s wings and added them to the swimmer doing the butterfly stroke to show the love that the community gives to the foundation,” Piovoso said, noting she added a halo because she felt it was “a nice way to honor Marisa, who is an angel.”

A senior who is a freestyle sprinter for her high school team, Piovoso wants to study graphic arts in college with the hope of becoming a graphic designer in the advertising industry. Her school-community has been a longtime supporter of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation and countless other community initiatives.

“Since we are such a small town, we come together in our school-community a lot, because we all know each other,” Piovoso said about Metuchen rallying behind causes. “I feel like a lot of our students are more mature, and because of that we like to help out whenever we can.”

Marisa Tufaro, who would have been a sophomore this year at Edison High School, was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, a complex cardiac defect which required six open-heart surgeries. She developed two life-threatening conditions that necessitated a heart transplant. The transplant was supposed to extend her life, but tragically cut it short when a postoperative complication developed into a rare form of blood cancer to which Marisa Tufaro succumbed last year at the age of 13. Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, Marisa Tufaro, who was an honor roll student in elementary and middle school, lived a vibrant life that inspired. Several of her former classmates will be participating in the swim event.

Cathcart said he first broached the idea of conducting a swim event for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation during the conference’s year-end meeting at the conclusion of last season.

“Their faces lit up,” Cathcart said of the coaches in attendance at the meeting. “I thought the swim group would want to get involved.”

Swimmers, their coaches and their parents will be afforded opportunities to volunteer during the swim event.

Cathcart said the swim event could never have come to fruition without the leadership and expertise of Dauphinee, who has conducted similar fundraisers for Autism New Jersey through her role as site director for the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey’s Aquatics and Fitness Center, and without the Raritan Bay Area YMCA’s staff and facility.

“The Y is about teaching kids how to care for their neighbors and how to really learn from that,” said Jobin, whose Raritan Bay Area YMCA, which hosts the GMC Championships, has seating for 300 in a viewing gallery and for 400 more on the pool deck.

“We want kids to understand there is a greater purpose and why we should care about others. That’s why we wanted to do a swim event and invite all the teams from the county. That’s all part of it.

“It gives everybody an opportunity to learn more about the foundation so they can really further the cause.”

Please consider watching the video above or clicking on any of the links below to learn about how The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has already made a profound impact on the lives of Middlesex County children in need.

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.

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 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 the 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.

Conducted a boardwalk-themed Family Fun Night at 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 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 Centerand 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 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

Parrtnered 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.

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.

Paid forward the kindness of Bishop Ahr High School by supporting its annual Ahr Stars dinner to help children in need.

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

Rewarded high school students for their community service to children with scholarships.

Provided meals and goods for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Jersey.

Provided scholarships to Greater Middlesex Conference student-athletes.

Partnered with Middlesex High School to conduct a coat drive for Middlesex County children.

Provided gift cards for pediatric patients and their families.