Toms River Education Foundation gives $7,500 to Unified Sports; students and coaches honored

At the Toms River Regional School District Board of Education meeting, the Toms River Education Foundation was thanked for a $7,500 donation earmarked to support the district’s Unified Sports program, and student athletes and coaches from the district’s high schools received awards and recognition.

The donation "giving us $7,500 for unified sports" was acknowledged by students and staff as enabling ongoing activities such as flag football and unified kickball and potentially additional basketball opportunities, the school representative said. The program representative described Unified Sports as "grant funded" and as promoting social inclusion "through shared sports." Channel 21 was credited for producing the short video the board watched in recognition of the program.

Dave Correll, publicity coordinator at Toms River High School South, introduced several honorees and framed the awards as part of the district’s educational mission: "What we just saw on that video screen is why we are in the business of education," he said. Student reports from each high school highlighted academic and athletic accomplishments: East’s student representative noted swimmer Arian(e) Nagaria broke the school 100‑yard fly record (times reported in the student’s remarks), and North and South representatives described holiday drives and competitive team results.

District staff thanked the Toms River Education Foundation and downtown businesses for their fundraising and support for inclusion programs. Unified Sports staff and volunteer coaches were invited onstage for photos and recognition after the video presentation.

The board then moved from the student‑recognition portion into the business agenda. There were no formal votes tied to the donation presentation during the meeting’s open session; the donation and recognitions were presented as community and program updates.