St. Joseph High School honored the memory of Marisa Tufaro and conducted a fundraiser for the nonprofit foundation bearing her name during the football team’s home opener last weekend.
In addition to donating the entire gate from the contest and all proceeds from the sale of commemorative T-shirts, the Falcons wore specially designed decals bearing Marisa’s initials inside a purple (her favorite color) heart on the back of their helmets.
St. Joseph paid tribute to Marisa and beloved former assistant football coach Michael Cleary Sr., who died unexpectedly two months ago, with a heart-touching and detail-oriented pregame ceremony at midfield, during which members of the Cleary and Tufaro families were presented with beautiful bouquets of flowers and stadium blankets bearing the high school’s insignia.
“I came home and told my wife it was really remarkable,’” State Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., 18th legislative district, said of the pregame ceremony, which he attended as a member of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees.
“It was as moving and meaningful an event as I’ve ever seen. It was from the heart, pure and not manufactured, and really validated what everyone already knows about the tremendous reputation St. Joe’s has and what the faculty and staff encourage their kids to do.”
Greg and his wife, Cyndi, established The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to help children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area, to keep alive their daughter’s indomitable spirit and give back to a community that has long showed overwhelming support.
Founded less than 14 months ago, the foundation has already made a profound impact, donating nearly $50,000 and spearheading multiple community initiatives to help pediatric patients and others in need, as well as awarding college scholarship dollars to exceptional high school students who advance the nonprofit’s mission.
“It’s rewarding to see schools paying it forward,” said Noppenberger, who also serves on The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees. “I applaud St. Joseph for what they are doing, especially in this day and age, when parochial schools are closing because of finances, and you’ve got a school looking at the bigger picture and seeing how this is going to help kids in the future.
“The unique thing about athletics and schools is they always take care of their own, and St. Joseph in this case certainly is helping out Greg and the Tufaro Foundation in an unforgettable way.”
Less than a month later, Marisa was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments failed to thwart the relentless onslaught of the disease, which riddled her brain and body. Marisa succumbed to her illness Jan. 30, 2017.
More than a dozen representatives of the St. Joseph football program – including current seniors David Barr, Brian Reilly and Olmstead – attended Marisa’s wake, where the St. Joseph football sweatshirt coaches and players gave her was displayed.
“We wanted to do something special for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation,” St. Joseph head coach Rich Hilliard said of last weekend’s event. “The football coaches and parents came together and developed a plan which we brought to the administration at St. Joe’s and they were thrilled with our idea. The kids are enthused. They’re going to wear the Marisa Rose Tufaro sticker on the back of their helmets all season long. Everyone from the St. Joe’s community wants to kick in.”
Greg and Cyndi Tufaro attended the football team’s annual barbecue and cornhole tournament last month at St. Joseph, where parents of players presented each of them with a commemorative T-shirt.
Other St. Joseph athletic programs, including the school’s ice hockey, basketball and baseball teams, have supported The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
“Not only do we love supporting our alumni, but we also love to support great causes and foundations,” St. Joseph principal Anne Rivera said. “The Marisa Tufaro Foundation checks both those boxes. Supporting and nurturing future leaders is our business here at St. Joe’s, and The Marisa Tufaro Foundation does the same thing, just in a different way.”