Under the leadership of head coach Dan Poulsen, the South Amboy High School baseball team continues to step up to the plate for various causes, including The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
The Governors recently bestowed upon the nonprofit yet another generous donation from its annual Crew Cuts for a Cause fundraiser, which has generated more than $33,000 for charity since its inception nearly a decade ago.
“I wanted to bring the team together and for them to feel more like a brotherhood,” Poulsen said of the fundraising concept, which commenced in 2013. “We had a few kids going into the military (that year), so we decided upon crew cuts. We opened it up as a fundraiser for family, friends, and local businesses in town.”
The entire community of South Amboy, whose population barely exceeds 9,000 residents, seems to rally behind the baseball program’s efforts.
Crew Cuts for a Cause initially raised money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, but following the passing of beloved South Amboy High School alumnus Riley Rone in 2016, the Governors also began donating money to other causes.
In addition to donating to The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, the South Amboy baseball program has supported the family of Shane O’Donnell, the toddler son of former Middlesex High School baseball coach Mike O’Donnell who is winning a battle with neuroblastoma, and Woodbridge High School alumnus Ben Lepisto who is winning a fight with medulloblastoma.
The Governors have also annually supported the Teamwork Unlimited Foundation through their participation in and fundraising efforts for the Autism Awareness Baseball Challenge.
Mike Garlatti, a scout for the Colorado Rockies and former Rutgers University assistant baseball coach who founded and runs the challenge, has praised South Amboy for its contributions, noting the small school with the big heart has been a huge supporter of the event.
South Amboy’s benevolence also extends to its involvement with Riley’s Touch-A-Truck, a fundraiser for a scholarship fund in memory of Rone, a three-sport athlete who tragically died in a motorcycle accident less than a year after graduating from high school.
“His grit and his fearlessness were really a huge part of our team,” Poulsen said, recalling a time when he hit a fly ball to Rone during infield-outfield that drifted into foul territory, leading Rone to run full speed directly into a fence down the left field line while tracking down the ball. “He was the sparkplug for everybody.”
The Touch-A-Truck event has raised tens of thousands of dollars, a testament to the beloved former three-sport athlete, who also played basketball and soccer.
South Amboy players and the entire staff join the Rone family – including Riley’s siblings Ryan, Randi and Regan – to help run Riley’s Touch-A-Truck. During the event, families can make a donation, which allows their children to touch, climb and take pictures on or near any of the dozens of trucks that gather on the high school grounds.
During last month’s second annual Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association Charity Golf Outing, which benefits The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, participants held a moment of silence for Riley Rone. A tee box sign honored his memory at the event, of which Poulsen and his coaching staff were significant supporters.
Inspired by St. Baldrick’s fundraisers, in which participants shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer research, the Governors initiated their Crew Cuts for a Cause.
Lisa Terranova of L. Terra Nova Salon in Highland Park donated her time and services, coming to South Amboy High School during a preseason practice to shave the heads of Poulsen and his players.
In addition to its remarkable fundraising efforts and community service, Poulsen’s program in 2019 also adopted and befriended then 5-year-old Michael Grzankowski as a team member.
Michael was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the same severe congenital cardiac defect with which Marisa Tufaro was born that requires a series of open-heart surgeries to correct.
Michael underwent his first reconstructive operation six days after he was born and had his second repair six months later. Michael underwent his third open-heart surgery in 2018 at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which pioneered the life-saving intervention.
A beloved honorary member of Poulsen’s ballclub that 2019 season, Michael continues to thrive and is excelling on the diamond, recently making an 8U all-star team.
Poulsen graduated from South Amboy more than two decades ago with a class of 70 students. Despite its diminutive enrollment, South Amboy continues to make a huge impact on the lives of others.