'Coming together for a great cause': Charity is winner of Marisa Rose Bowl

METUCHEN – The visitors of all ages were greeted by purple heart-shaped balloons as they entered the parking lot. One by one, the 500 or so people made their way to the stadium, many dropping off canned food and pasta at the entrance.

Inside, cheerleaders handed out red and pink roses that the people twirled as they got ready for the Tournament of Roses Parade Charity Walk and Food Drive.

The mile-plus stroll around the St. Joseph High School campus on Monday was the community service project for Thursday’s Bellamy and Sons Marisa Rose Bowl all-star football game that includes recently graduated players and cheerleaders from Middlesex County high schools. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. at North Brunswick High School.

Unlike the actual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, this one featured a tad less pomp and circumstance with no elaborate floats or horses or marching bands.

It did, however, have steps with meaning and care and love.

The game honors Marisa Rose Tufaro, an Edison resident, who survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old. Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, she lived an inspiring life, including performing in musicals, playing percussion in the school orchestra and being a member of various clubs.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, a nonprofit that assists children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area, keeps that spirit alive in helping others. The nonprofit has donated a quarter of a million dollars since its inception less than five years ago. The nonprofit has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies and other items, as well as awarding $26,500 in academic scholarships to 38 high school graduates.

All proceeds from the game benefit the foundation. Marisa is the daughter of longtime Edison Township Public Schools educator Cyndi Tufaro and former Home News Tribune and Courier News sportswriter Greg Tufaro.

Before the walk, everyone posed for a group shot on the football field, stretching from the 35-yard line to the 50-yard line.

“It’s really difficult to capture into words the spirit of what took place here today,” said Sen. Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., a participant whose Legislative District 18 includes seven Middlesex County towns. “To salute Marisa’s memory and at the same time have our young people committed to doing what’s right. This is what we’re all about. It’s just so refreshing to be here today and inspiring.”

'It was a great day'

Piscataway cheerleader Nia Lowery noted that Marisa was in her age range and it’s a reminder to not take things for granted.

“I feel like it’s a really good foundation and it’s a good reminder to us that we’re fortunate enough that we can do physical activity and not all kids can,” she said. “So I think it’s cool.”

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Sayreville football player Santana Fonseca was selected to play in the statewide Phil Simms NJ North/South All Star Football Classic held at Kean University.

He chose to play in the Marisa Rose Bowl instead because of its charity component. Fonseca called it an honor to suit up in the intra-Middlesex County game.

Fonseca is a Type 1 diabetic and needs to manage the condition while playing football by doing things such as regularly monitoring his food intake and checking his blood glucose level at practice and games.

He said he uses that perspective to cherish every snap and moment that he could on the field.

“I’ve always been that type of person trying to give back as much as I can to the community because I know what it feels like to be less fortunate,” he said. “I’m glad that I can.

"I’ve had this in my mind for a while now. Last year when I heard about the foundation, I thought it was a great thing because I would be raising money for a pediatric foundation and obviously it’s meaningful.”

His Sayreville teammate Nick Schabilon said he also thinks about how there are people less fortunate than him and he’s “very thankful” for what he has and strives to make the most of his opportunities.

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After the walk, the players and cheerleaders had one final practice. Before heading over, cheerleaders Emily Calantoni, Jessica Redding and Jenna Wrubel (from Sayreville), Middlesex High School’s Anna Hommas and South River’s Madison Sporer all commented on how much they enjoyed the charity walk aspect to the game.

“It was a great day,” Calantoni said. “Super nice outside. Nice to feel good helping out for a good cause. It feels great.”

Raising awareness

The event’s food drive benefited REPLENISH, a regional food bank serving Middlesex County residents, including an estimated 30,000 children.

Jennifer Apostol, the director of REPLENISH, said that it was “really great to get the students involved and teach them about food insecurity. The importance of donating and how prevalent it is and to get them involved at a younger age to learn to give back.”

The New Jersey Department of Health reports that 1 in 12 residents and 1 in 10 children statewide “live in homes without consistent access to adequate food for everyone to live healthy, active lives.”

Apostol gave a moving speech at the game’s press conference in May about not taking things for granted. Monday, she reiterated how she tries to relate to students how they feel when they’re hungry.

“If they miss a snack or miss a meal it impacts them if they can’t perform on the field or in the classroom,” she said. “And to think about kids who just don’t have enough to eat on a regular basis and what they must feel like and how difficult it is for them to be successful."

REPLENISH’s other activities include an annual spring school food drive for schools in Middlesex County and an interactive training experience for teachers and administrators called the Food for Thought challenge.

The aim is to help educators understand food insecurity so that they can bring that awareness to students.

“There was a food pantry table that was also to drive home the message that food pantries are here,” she said. “They’re accessible. We want to remove the stigma from food pantries and encourage people to utilize them. That they’re there for anyone who just needs a little helping hand.”

What did Apostol hope to collect in Monday’s drive?

“Anything we can collect is more than we had before this started,” she said. “So we’re truly just happy to be here and to be a part of this. To be involved with the kids and get the awareness out there and any amount of donations that we’re able to collect today is a bonus.”

The game, formerly known as the Snapple Bowl and the Autoland Classic, raised $715,000 for charity since its inception in 1994. In the past, participants visited children’s hospitals and a school for children with disabilities.

Monday's event continued the giving connection with the game.

“It’s a reminder of how important it is to continue with community service and to volunteer throughout their lives,” said the bowl’s longtime cheerleading coach Colleen Meyers, “and how much of a rewarding experience it is to give back in any way that they can just to find something that they’re passionate about. So who knows, maybe (the event) created some future volunteers in years to come.”

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St. Joseph football player Christian Solino added, “It was fantastic. It’s something special, especially St. Joe’s hosting it. It’s always something that we take very, very seriously. Anything we can do to give back to the community.”

Nearly everyone sported the colors of the foundation by wearing either a purple or white T-shirt. In addition to the more than 100 participants from the game, underclassmen and rising senior football players and cheerleaders from East Brunswick, Edison, Metuchen, North Brunswick, St. Joseph, South Plainfield and Woodbridge also took part in the walk.

The Marisa Rose Bowl is sponsored by Bellamy Sons and Paving. The owner Joe Bellamy, whose middle son and recent Piscataway graduate Rocco is playing, soaked up the atmosphere along with his oldest son Joey Jr. and wife Robin.

“It was very pleasant to see,” Joe Bellamy said. “It actually turned out to be a beautiful day. There’s a lot of people that have nothing to do with athletics here. We ran into a couple people at the food bank that volunteered and have nothing to do with (the game), but they volunteered through the food bank, which is very nice, too. So a lot of good people coming together for a great cause.”

Email: amendlowitz@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ football: Charity is winner of Marisa Rose Bowl