The Marisa Tufaro Foundation donated hundreds of toys collected during a season-opening bowling tournament to pediatric patients and children in need.
The Marisa Tufaro Classic was held Dec. 2 at Majestic Lanes in Woodbridge.
Toys donated to Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center in Edison will meet the needs of inpatients and visitors to the hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department, who can benefit at any time from a diversion to help cope with the anxiety and pain that can accompany treatments, medical procedures, and extended admissions.
Toys donated to Hands of Hope for the Community were distributed to Middlesex County children in need during a Dec. 16 holiday event at Saint James Episcopal Church in Edison. Until the pandemic struck, the event was an annual tradition of the nonprofit.
Proceeds from the Marisa Tufaro Classic, at which bowlers, their coaches and spectators were invited to donate new and unwrapped toys, will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
Woodbridge head coach Amanda Small founded the wildly successful tournament with support from her high school and school district. The Marisa Tufaro Classic generated well over a thousand toys for pediatric patients and children in need its first two years.
Since its inception in 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $300,000 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.
In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has awarded $29,500 in academic scholarships to 42 Middlesex County high school seniors and 13 scholarships to middle and elementary school students to attend a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa Tufaro survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing in 2017 to a rare form of cancer that riddled her brain and body. She was just 13 years old.
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.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN JFK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Serving residents of central New Jersey for more than 50 years, JFK University Medical Center offers a complete array of advanced services in its 498-bed facility located in Edison, N.J. With more than 1,000 affiliated physicians, this academic medical center offers a complete spectrum of advanced services including general and specialized surgery, cardiac care, maternity and pediatrics, oncology, imaging, breast center, sleep center, wound care, robotic surgery, emergency medicine, weight loss surgery, and radiology. It is home to the world-renowned JFK Neuroscience Institute that diagnoses and treats brain, spine and nervous system disorders. To learn more, visit hackensackmeridianhealth.org/
ABOUT HANDS OF HOPE FOR THE COMMUNITY
Until the pandemic struck, distributing holiday toys to Middlesex County children in need was an annual tradition of Hands of Hope for the Community. The all-volunteer Edison-based nonprofit’s primary role is providing an efficient and centralized system for distributing food in Middlesex County to alleviate childhood and family hunger. Hands of Hope for the Community’s year-round food drives for the needy are focused on sustaining good nutrition, health and human dignity by providing a means for individuals to meet their full potential and to silence the pain hunger brings. In 1992 Hands of Hope, Inc. began to serve the community as a food pantry, soup kitchen and limited clothes closet. The nonprofit continues its service out of St. James Episcopal Church in Edison. To learn more, visit hohnj.org