The Bright Beginnings Preschool at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Middlesex County in Edison conducted a heartfelt fundraiser for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
During the month of February, students and their families were able to purchase plastic hearts filled with Valentine’s Day candy for $1, with every penny from those sales directly benefiting The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
Early Childhood Education Director Janet Slover and JCC Chief Executive Officer Adam Glinn recently presented the foundation’s leadership with a most generous donation from the preschool’s successful fundraiser.
“We are grateful beyond words to the JCC and the Bright Beginnings Preschool,” said Cyndi Tufaro, executive director of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation. “It was abundantly clear that Janet and her staff invested a lot of love and care into this fundraiser, which had added meaning because it was fittingly launched on World Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day and took place during American Heart Month.”
Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa Tufaro survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 at the age of 13.
Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctors appointments, Marisa Tufaro was an Edison Township Public Schools honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.
Since its inception less than six years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than a quarter of a million dollars to fulfill its mission. 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.
Upon receiving a tour of the Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County in 2021, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s leadership was immediately struck with the services the center provides for Central Jersey residents of all ages, especially children. The visit resulted in the nonprofit donating to the JCC to support the outstanding programs it provides for infants through teens.
With a capacity of 180 students, the Bright Beginnings Preschool offers half-day and full-day opportunities for children ages 2½ to 5 years of age. More than two dozen teachers and assistant teachers work with additional support staff under Slover’s leadership to provide a full-curricular experience.
Slover took over as the JCC’s early childhood education director last July following a 30-year career in public education. Her academic experiences range from early childhood education to serving as a high school vice principal.
“She’s been in a couple of different school districts and has had an array of experiences,” Glinn said. “She is a true professional and is one of the most diligent and hardworking educators I’ve ever known. She really came here and bought into where we want to bring the program in terms of its comprehensive nature.”
Glinn said children at the preschool not only experience a curriculum that gets them ready for kindergarten, but because of the uniqueness of the JCC’s facility, which has a full-size gymnasium and aquatics center, gym, music, and aquatics are built into the curriculum.
Reflecting Middlesex County’s diversity, the JCC also offers its preschool students and their families an array of resources including English as a Second Language classes.
“The vast majority of our students are either first-generation Americans or only very recently emigrated to the United States,” said Glinn, noting the JCC partners with neighboring Hackensack Meridian Health JFK University Medical Center to provide healthcare resources for students and their families.
“We have doctors who come in on a monthly basis and do lectures. They provide information on all matters and issues of healthcare. We do various screenings for vision. We work with the dental clinic. We work with the family practice clinic. We have a whole array of healthcare services that we provide just as part of the program. It’s really a wonderful resource.”
For nearly four decades, the JCC has served the community, providing cutting edge programs for adults, children, families, and those in need.
The JCC has an active membership of more than 12,000 state residents. Before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, approximately 1,000 people benefited daily from JCC programs.
More than 2,000 seniors and approximately 400 early childhood and special needs students benefit from the services and programs the center provides.
The JCC continues to grow, adapt, and meet the changing needs and interests of its members and the greater community, providing opportunities for enrichment, social stimulation, health and wellness, education, culture, and the arts.
The JCC will soon break ground on a 21,000-square foot expansion of its facility, from which preschool students through seniors and adults will immensely benefit.
Three new fully integrated classrooms will be added to the center’s early childhood facilities and technology will be upgraded. Spaces for teacher prep and parent-teacher conferences will be added, along with dedicated spaces to expand services for children with disabilities and special needs.
“One in four residents in New Jersey has a disability,” Glinn said. “There is a tremendous need for services. We have a lot of families interested in that and there is a dearth of resources. That’s something we’ve been incrementally addressing but that we really need to respond to.”
Glinn said through expansion the JCC will enhance its enrichment programs, after school programs, and specials programs including gym, music and fine arts.
“This expansion,” Glinn said, “will really allow us to address the full child and the full family.”