As the parents of our foundation’s namesake left Majestic Lanes in Woodbridge following the second annual Marisa Tufaro Classic, which is a bowling tournament and holiday toy drive for pediatric patients, a woman bearing gifts for the hospitalized children greeted Greg and Cyndi Tufaro outside the door.

Lisa Metzger, who founded a nonprofit in loving memory of her daughter, Jennifer, who died at the age of 16 as the passenger in a single-car crash more than a decade ago, personally delivered bags of toys on behalf of the JEMMS Foundation to the Tufaros that late November afternoon.

The tragic crash that claimed the life of Jennifer occurred not far from Majestic Lanes, from which Jennifer, who was an outstanding bowler at Colonia High School, had just moments before departed.

Greg and Lisa had not previously met, but knew of one another because each had awarded a scholarship in loving memory of their respective daughters during a Woodbridge High School senior awards ceremony the previous spring.

After finally making all the connections, Greg was reduced to tears thinking about the amazing courage Lisa demonstrated to personally deliver the toys, which required a trip to the site where Jennifer bowled and to the last place Jennifer was moments before her untimely passing.

Four days after meeting Lisa, Greg, who is a sports writer for the Home News Tribune, was sitting in his car outside Colonia High School, from which Jennifer would have graduated in 2010, when he received a text message from his editor-in-chief, Joe Martino, regarding a generous donation JEMMS Foundation made to a student at the Edison-based Lakeview School, a program of the New Jersey Institute for Disabilities.

Joe asked Greg if he knew anything about JEMMS Foundation and if he would be willing to write a feature story about the nonprofit’s donation to the student at the Lakeview School, where Lisa recently started a new job as an administrative assistant.

The irony of receiving that text message outside Colonia High School, where Greg had just attended an All-Greater Middlesex Conference Football Coaches Association selection meeting, was not lost on any of the parties involved. Greg later shared a screen grab of that time-stamped text message with Lisa.

During an emotional interview for the story with Lisa 10 days later, Greg was privileged to learn about Jennifer’s amazing life and devastated to learn the details of her tragic passing.

Jennifer, like Marisa, had a cardiac defect, that required a surgical repair. Lisa discovered the anomaly one night upon noticing her daughter’s heart erratically beating while Jennifer was asleep. Jennifer made a complete recovery and resumed her active lifestyle, which included running middle school track, singing in the church choir, being active in Girl Scouts, studying dance, cheerleading and, of course, bowling.

Today marks the 11th anniversary of Jennifer’s tragic passing. In her honor, we ask that you please keep Jennifer’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers, and that you consider taking a moment to read the feature story on Jennifer and the JEMMS Foundation (LINKED HERE) that Greg was privileged to write.

The bags of toys Lisa donated on behalf of JEMMS Foundation contributed to the wildly successful drive Woodbridge High School head coach Amanda Small orchestrated in concert with scholastic bowling teams across Central Jersey.