Marisa Rose Bowl all-star football game raises $21K for Middlesex County charity

The Marisa Rose Bowl and accompanying Tournament of Roses Parade Charity Walk and Food Drive combined to raise more than $21,000 for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

All proceeds from the events benefited the nonprofit, which assists pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

New Jersey’s most successful charity football game, whose momentum the pandemic derailed for two years, made its triumphant return with Team Marisa defeating Team Rose 14-7 at North Brunswick High School’s Steve Libro Field on July 21.

Formerly known as the Snapple Bowl and Autoland Classic, the all-star game has now raised more than $736,000 for charity since it was first played in 1994.

Rebranded as the Marisa Rose Bowl and sponsored by Bellamy and Sons Paving, the 2022 version of the annual event showcased more than 100 recently graduated players and cheerleaders from Middlesex County high schools.

MyCentralJersey.com, the online home of the Home News Tribune and the Courier News, is the game's longtime media partner.

The Tournament of Roses Parade Charity Walk and Food Drive served as a community service project for Marisa Rose Bowl participants, and reflected Marisa Rose Tufaro’s first community service project, which as an elementary school student was to collect nonperishable food items for donation to a local food pantry.

In addition to heightening awareness about food insecurity, more than one ton of nonperishable food items and $1,000 in gift cards were collected during the parade for REPLENISH, a regional food bank serving Middlesex County residents, including an estimated 30,000 children, and the Middlesex College Community Resource Hub and Food Pantry.

In honor of the 500 supporters who walked the nearly two-mile parade route at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen on July 19, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation donated an additional $2,000 to the food pantries.

“The outpouring of support at the charity walk and generosity of participants was phenomenal,” said state Sen. Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., whose legislative district encompasses seven Middlesex County towns and who serves on the foundation’s board of trustees. “The donations collected will make a huge impact on Middlesex County children and families in need.”

Also see:Marisa Rose Bowl a success after returning from a two-year hiatus

Since its inception five years ago, the foundation established in Marisa Rose Tufaro’s loving memory has donated a quarter of a million dollars to fulfill its mission.

Marisa Rose, who would have graduated last year from Edison High School, survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle.

Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, Marisa Rose was an honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.

“We can never find the right words to express our gratitude to the dedicated players, cheerleaders and coaches who sacrificed to be a part of this event, as well as the supportive parents and families of all those participants,” said Cyndi Tufaro, executive director of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

“We are forever indebted to everyone, especially the Bellamy family and all of the sponsors, including the Pines Manor, Metro Team Sports and Adidas, without whose benevolence the all-star game would not have come to fruition.”

Cyndi Tufaro said the St. Joseph and North Brunswick school-communities were amazing hosts of the parade and game, respectively, selflessly providing abundant resources to ensure both charity events would be a resounding success.

“Our nonprofit continues to be blessed with overwhelming support,” Cyndi Tufaro said. “We are eternally grateful for every penny donated and every second volunteered, all of which keeps alive Marisa’s indomitable spirit and allows her legacy to continue to be one of helping others.”

New Jersey Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee Marcus Borden, who is the founder and executive director of the charity all-star game, attributes its success to the participants.

“What we’ve been able to accomplish is because the kids and the coaches buy in and understand the importance of giving back,” Borden said. “The success of the game is due to their genuine commitment to what the game represents.”

Next year’s game will be contested at a site to be determined on June 29, the last Thursday in June as opposed to the third Thursday in July on which the charity event had previously been played for 27 summers.

“We feel it’s better,” said Borden, the former longtime head coach at East Brunswick. “We know kids go to school earlier now and some plan their vacations later, so we want to give those kids a chance that might have wanted to play but can’t.”

Borden said the caliber of coaching and quality of play in the Marisa Rose Bowl was superb, as was the performance of the cheerleaders at halftime and on the sidelines throughout the game. The biggest impact participants made, however, was through their charitable contributions.

“It’s about making kids understand there’s more than football and there’s more than just you," Borden said. "There are others and we want to be the ones that are the givers, so we give back to the community.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ football: Marisa Rose Bowl raises $21K for Middlesex County charity