Marisa Tufaro Foundation 2025

Thanks to the remarkable generosity of our benefactors, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was blessed and privileged to donate a single-year record $61,950 in 2025 to support Middlesex County pediatric patients and children in need. The total dollar amount does not include hundreds of gifted toys, children’s books, and nonperishable food items upon which our nonprofit has placed no monetary value. We are appreciative beyond words to all who continue to support The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which has now donated a grand total of nearly $450,000 to fulfill its mission. Thank you for allowing our nonprofit to make a profound impact on the lives of those we serve. Best wishes for a healthy and happy new year. Read more.

On the anniversary of Marisa’s untimely passing, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation made a generous donation in her loving memory in January 2025 to support pediatric oncology patients and their families at the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center and Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital. In addition to supporting the hospital and cancer center’s comprehensive Child Life programs – including music therapy and pet therapy – The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s donation provided financial assistance to families of pediatric oncology patients. Read more.

Proceeds from the Marisa Tufaro Classic bowling tournament and accompanying toy drive in December 2025 benefited The Marisa Tufaro Foundation. Through the remarkable generosity of the participating high school teams and countless donors, hundreds of new and unwrapped toys were collected for our nonprofit to distribute during the holiday season to pediatric patients at Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center and children in need who Hands of Hope for the Community serves. Read more.

A Sweetheart Dinner Dance in February 2025 honoring the loving memory of Marisa Tufaro and benefiting the nonprofit bearing her name fittingly took place during National Heart Month. The South Amboy Columbiettes, a women’s auxiliary council affiliated with the South Amboy Knights of Columbus Council 426, conducted the creative fundraiser at which attendees were encouraged to “come dance your heart out for a cause.” Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored to be a beneficiary of the fifth annual Greater Middlesex Conference Soccer for a Cause Charity Festival. We are grateful beyond words to all 20 participating high school teams who made a profound difference in the lives of pediatric cancer patients, children in need, and food insecure families. The event fittingly occurred in September, which is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and National Hunger Awareness Month. Read more.

Since its inception, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has been honored to award a total of $36,500 in scholarships to 50 high school seniors who strive for excellence academically and athletically, have overcome adversity, and performed community service to assist children in need. The foundation awarded four more Greater Middlesex Conference Student-Athlete and Marisa Tufaro Memorial Community Service scholarships in June 2025. Read more.

Greater Middlesex Conference swimmers once again became “Marisa’s Minnows” in December 2025 as part of an annual fundraiser known as "Practice for a Purpose" with all donations collected benefitting The Marisa Tufaro Foundation. We are appreciative beyond words to all of the swimmers and coaches who pooled their resources to make a splash with another amazing event for our nonprofit. Read more.

For the fourth consecutive year, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation sponsored 60 Greater Middlesex Conference high school golfers to participate in the April 2025 Tee Off Against Hunger, benefiting Hands of Hope for the Community. We're eternally grateful to all the student-athletes for volunteering their time and talent to fight food insecurity during the fundraising event at TopGolf in Edison. Read more and click here to view a photo gallery.

As part of the Greater Middlesex Conference's 23rd Annual Dan Hayston Memorial Sportsmanship Luncheon at The Pines Manor in Edison in May 2025 and in partnership with The Peter Fund, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored to present five Kindness Counts Awards to high school student-athletes. Each Kindness Counts Award honoree received a commemorative plaque and $500 to donate to the charity of their choice that serves Middlesex County children in need. Check out a story and photo gallery from the event.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation partnered with three-time defending state champion Saint Joseph High School to promote early childhood literacy through a Bowling for Books fundraising event in October 2025 benefitting New Jersey’s Reach Out and Read program. Using a pro-am format, members of the bowling program paired with Saint Joseph faculty and staff in the fundraiser, which was held at Lucky Strike in North Brunswick. Read more and watch a News12NJ video about the event, which raised more than $4,200 for Middlesex County children in need and their families.

The fifth annual Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association Charity Golf Outing in June 2025, which benefited The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, was a resounding success. We are eternally grateful to all who participated in the fundraising event and to the incredibly generous coaches who continue to support our nonprofit. Click here for a story and photo gallery from the outing.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored to be among the beneficiaries of the South Plainfield School District's fourth annual Day of Service in May 2025 through Franklin Elementary School’s Mile for Marisa Walkathon. Students and staff walked the length of Franklin Avenue to Plainfield Avenue and back, learning about The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s namesake and how the nonprofit established in her loving memory assists pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area. Balloons in Marisa’s favorite color of purple adorned the walking path. Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation extended its partnership in 2025 with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy to continue making free visits from certified therapy dogs and their trained owners/handlers available to schools, libraries, and other facilities serving children. Through fully funded grants which The Marisa Tufaro Foundation provided, Creature Comfort Pet Therapy has been able to enhance the lives of hundreds of children, making more than 150 therapeutic visits to locations across Middlesex County over the last four years. The Marisa Tufaro Foundation's renewed commitment to Creature Comfort Pet Therapy ensured the two nonprofits can continue collaborating to provide free services to children county wide. Read more.

A memorial dual between the South Plainfield and Old Bridge high school wrestling teams in January 2025 honored the memory of Marisa Tufaro and benefitted the foundation bearing her name. We are eternally grateful to both programs for continuing this wonderful annual tradition that assists Middlesex County children in need. Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation awarded four Marisa Tufaro Memorial Art Scholarships in 2025, entitling each recipient to attend a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Museum. To date, our nonprofit has been honored and privileged to send 31 elementary and middle school students to the camp. Read more.

In an extraordinary act of kindness that reflects the borough’s generous spirit, Metuchen musicians The Commuters and JUST BOB MUSIC performed at Hailey's Harp & Pub during March 2025 in an amazing fundraiser Tyler Kandel orchestrated for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation. The selfless musicians donated their time and talent to support our nonprofit’s mission. The event raised $3,100 for the foundation. Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored to be the beneficiary of the 2025 Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Coaches Association’s Girls and Boys Senior All-Star Games at Old Bridge High School in March 2025. The event has a decades-long tradition of supporting charitable causes. Read more and view a photo gallery from the all-star doubleheader.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored in 2025 to share the launch of a new patient-friendly resource that helps patients and caregivers learn about post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), the rare form of cancer that claimed Marisa’s life. The foundation’s leadership was privileged to participate in the co-creation of these materials, working alongside other caregivers and patients with lived PTLD experiences and advocacy organizations who support transplant, rare disease, and cancer patients. Please consider visiting the website at www.aboutPTLD.com

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored to be the beneficiary of the fifth annual Woodbridge Turkey Trot 5K. We are eternally grateful to Mayor John E. McCormac, the Mayor's Wellness Campaign, the township’s dedicated Recreation Department, and all sponsors. The event was held in November 2025 at Alvin P. Williams Memorial Park on a course along the scenic waterfront of the township’s Sewaren section. Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored to partner with Prevention Links’ Greenway Family Success Center in Avenel to sponsor a select number of families in need, fully covering their cost to attend Scarlett’s Mini Golf Gala. All proceeds from the May 2025 event directly supported the ongoing medical care of brave 4-year-old Fords resident Scarlett Griffith and research toward developing a cure for Morquio A Syndrome, the rare genetic disorder affecting just four in 1 million births with which she has been diagnosed. A community-driven fundraiser through Mayor John E. McCormac’s nonprofit Woodbridge Community Fund, the event featured mini golf, a buffet dinner, open bar, and tricky tray raffle. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Scarlett and her family. Read more.

Commemorating what would have been its namesake’s birthday, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation on July 30, 2025, gifted presents to children hospitalized in her hometown. The nonprofit donated hundreds of new toys for pediatric patients at Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center in Edison.

As if the St. Bart's Buffalos Football and Cheer Program weren’t already performing enough inspirational community service over consecutive Sundays during October to heighten awareness about breast cancer and raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Buffalos also used their full slate of nine games on Oct. 5 and Oct. 12 to collect new children’s books and monetary donations for the purchase of new children’s books for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation to distribute to pediatric patients. Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation was honored to be among the beneficiaries of Nonna’s Sunday Dinner at Saint Stephen's Church Hall in South Plainfield in February 2025. The Plainfields’ chapter of UNICO’s wonderful fundraiser aided local charities and generated scholarships for high school seniors. Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is appreciative beyond words to the entire Franklin Elementary School community, which conducted a wonderful Pajama Day fundraiser in December 2025 that enabled our nonprofit to purchase new toys for distribution to children in need during the holiday season. Read more.

World Cancer Day in February 2025 also marked the anniversary of this eulogy, which Marisa’s father was honored to deliver in her loving memory at St. Francis Cathedral. Prayers for those battling cancer, others who’ve lost loved ones to the dreaded disease, and for finding a cure. Read Greg’s tribute to his daughter here.

During National Nurses Week in May 2025, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation honored the true heroes in the life of our nonprofit’s namesake with a tribute to the extraordinary love and care Marisa received from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit staff at New York Presbyterian-Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Read more.

On Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day in February 2025, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation extended thoughts and prayers for the 40,000 babies born annually in the United States with a cardiac abnormality. The lyrics from the song in the video linked above hold special meaning for the families of children born with cardiac defects. The video features photos of Marisa.

Serendipity brought Marisa’s father back to Herbert Hoover in 2025 for the first time since June 20, 2017, when he wrote this piece about the middle school’s eighth-grade promotion ceremony, during which Principal Brian McGrath delivered deeply moving remarks about Marisa. Those words have increased in meaning and impact over time. The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s origins and Marisa’s legacy can be traced to that moment, for which Greg and Cyndi remain eternally grateful. Read more.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is honored beyond words to have been named a recipient of the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and South Amboy's prestigious Barnes Community Champion Award and to have been named the Edison Township Chamber of Commerce's Organization of the Year.