69色情视频

January 30, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

By the time Thomas Joseph 鈥淭J鈥� Franzese transferred to 69色情视频 of New Jersey, he had been through a lot.

The gifted athlete from Allendale, NJ, had been a standout running back on Don Bosco Prep鈥檚 2009 national championship football team, and an outfielder on the high school sports powerhouse鈥檚 baseball team that ranked #2 in the country, before becoming a star running back at another Division III college.

He also broke his collarbone once, his thumb twice, his nose several times, suffered concussions and an excruciating high ankle sprain 鈥� all from playing football.

After the high ankle sprain, 鈥渉e leaned on what he was prescribed when he was diagnosed, and it helped, but it didn鈥檛 help enough 鈥� he found a way to get opioids after prescriptions,鈥� said his mother, Lauren Franzese. 鈥淭his is how it happens. They鈥檙e in pain. But opioids are so addictive, and we know that now.鈥�

TJ left college, and was in and out of rehabs in Florida, trying to make recovery stick.

He eventually came home to New Jersey, and earned his associate鈥檚 degree from Bergen Community College, before transferring to Ramapo.

鈥淗e got himself into the business program, and he was experiencing success. I am really glad he got to experience that before we lost him,鈥� Lauren said. 鈥淚t was a Godsend for us for him to end up at Ramapo.鈥�

Then on April 19, 2017, a month shy of his 25th birthday, TJ died from an overdose.

Turning Pain into Purpose

TJ鈥檚 father, Tom Franzese, coached TJ and his friends throughout their childhoods. In his grief, he thought, 鈥淢aybe I can keep my son鈥檚 name out in front of everybody, so they don鈥檛 forget this, and make a difference.鈥�

Together with his wife, he established the Thomas Joseph Franzese Foundation. At first, the couple wasn鈥檛 sure exactly where the funds they raised would go. Then a neighbor told them that Ramapo received state funding to establish on-campus recovery housing, and suggested they may want to partner with the college.

鈥淚t was a beautiful fit,鈥� Lauren recalled.

The Roadrunner Collegiate Recovery Program launched in 2019. Since then, the foundation has partnered with Ramapo to provide housing and need-based scholarships to students recovering from substance use disorders who are part of the college鈥檚 comprehensive program.

To date, the foundation has donated $125,000 to assist students with substance use disorders through scholarships that can be used for tuition or housing in the college鈥檚 on-campus recovery housing. Since 2019, seven students in recovery have benefited from the scholarships.

Lauren Franzese presented Christopher Romano, vice president of strategic enrollment, outreach and engagement and executive director of the 69色情视频 Foundation with a check in December.

Each year, the foundation holds a dinner, where a student benefiting from the scholarship shares their story. 鈥淚t is hard to hear 鈥� young people in such despair 鈥� but again, it is really uplifting, because you hear that story, and then you look at the person before you, healthy and happy and stronger than they ever thought they could be,鈥� Lauren said.

Christopher Romano, vice president of strategic enrollment, outreach and engagement and聽executive director of the 69色情视频 Foundation, called Lauren and Tom鈥檚 strength and commitment to the cause after losing their own son 鈥渋nspiring.鈥�

鈥淭hanks to the extraordinary commitment and generosity of the TJ Franzese Foundation, and Lauren and Tom, Ramapo students in recovery can continue to heal without the financial stress of tuition and housing costs, and ultimately achieve their goal of a college education,”聽 Romano said.

Recovery at Ramapo

Many of the students in the Roadrunner Collegiate Recovery Program have been in and out of college, and in and out of treatment, and have had to deal with emotional and mental trauma, according to Cory Rosenkranz, Ramapo鈥檚 coordinator of substance use disorder prevention/recovery programs.

They 鈥渉ave a negative outlook on life, but they don鈥檛 want that. They want to be healthy 鈥� recovery is recovering the goals and the dreams that they had as kids, and putting it to life,鈥� Rosenkranz said.

The program 鈥� managed by the college鈥檚 Center for Health and Counseling Services 鈥� features group meetings, individual counseling appointments, one-on-one sessions with academic advisors, and healthy programming for students in recovery.

This comprehensive support system has assisted students in raising their GPA鈥檚 from 1.0 or lower to a stellar 3.5 or above. 鈥淓very one of our graduates has done exactly that while developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,鈥� Rosenkranz said.

Paying it Forward

One of the program鈥檚 graduates who has been supported by the Thomas Joseph Franzese Foundation is Arielle Gromack 鈥�24 鈥�25. She said she started using substances as a teen, as she worked through unresolved trauma without a support system. At 18, she turned to heroin. Then she got arrested, she said, and 鈥渇inally decided to choose recovery and actually work at it.鈥�

The scholarship allowed her to worry less about finances and concentrate on her academics. She graduated from Ramapo with her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 2024 and then her Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2025. Now she is an intake coordinator and clinician. Part of her role is to support clients struggling with substance use disorders by providing individual therapy.

鈥淚f I could take on a client that鈥檚 struggling, I may be their only outlet or source of support. So I think that is very important,鈥� said Gromack. At Ramapo, she also participated in Ramapo鈥檚 Recovery Allies Fusion program, where she worked with others on campus to address and fight stigma linked to substance use and mental health disorders.

Gromack, like the other scholarship recipients, has shared her story at the foundation鈥檚 annual benefit dinner. Another recipient who spoke at the dinner wrote a letter to the Franzeses, stating their 鈥済enerosity inspires me to work harder and to be that light for others the way you have been for me.鈥�

Arielle Gromack 鈥�24 鈥�25, right, graduated with her Master of Social Work in May.

The Franzeses see the scholarships as having a compounding effect.

鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting, that ripple effect to see that they are going to help,鈥� Lauren Franzese said. 鈥淭hey are like, 鈥業 made it. I am here. I want to give back because I want to show people that it can be done.鈥� And who can counsel somebody in trouble better than someone who鈥檚 been in trouble?鈥�

Lauren Franzese said she and Tom are 鈥渢hrilled鈥� the young people they have assisted are doing okay, 鈥渁nd this is just a small thing that we can do to help them.鈥�

鈥淢aybe if there had been a program like this for my son, maybe he would have had a better chance. We鈥檒l never know,鈥� Lauren said. 鈥淏ut if we can do this, we can maybe turn a crummy situation into a situation where there can be hope.鈥�

For more information on the Roadrunner Collegiate Recovery Program, visit its webpage.

*Top photograph of TJ Franzese is courtesty of the Thomas Joseph Franzese Foundation