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By: Maria Allard | Roseville-Eastpointe Eastsider | Published April 27, 2025
The Joe Manfreda Dream Dash May 10 at Roseville High School will honor Manfreda, 16, a high school junior who died in January 2015.
Photo provided by Teresa Tomala
ROSEVILLE — When community members gather May 10 for the annual Joe Manfreda Dream Dash at Roseville High School, they will not only help raise money for college scholarships, they will honor the memory of Manfreda.
The 16-year-old Roseville High School junior died in January 2015 from an arterial abnormality in his heart. He is very much missed by his family, friends, classmates and teachers.
Teresa Tomala, director of special education for Roseville Community Schools, created the Dream Dash in 2014 as a way to raise money for the Roseville Community Schools Scholarship Foundation. Each year, the RCSSF provides scholarship money to graduating seniors.
The monetary amount in each scholarship varies each year, depending on how much the fundraisers garner. In 2023, for instance, students received $1,200 each; last year the recipients received $1,100 scholarships. Those who apply for scholarships must write an essay, provide two letters of recommendation and have good grades. A committee decides on the recipients based on criteria.
Manfreda participated in the first Dream Dash running alongside the other participants. When he died, it was decided that the Dream Dash should be held in his honor. Manfreda’s family attends the Dream Dash each year.
“It’s a community event,” Tomala said. “The school community participates and we have our city leaders, police, Fire Department, mayor and City Council help keep everyone safe.”
This year’s Joe Manfreda Dream Dash will be held at Roseville High School, 17855 Common Road. Adults can choose between a 5-kilometer run/walk or a 1-mile run/walk. There also is a student 5K run/walk and a student 1-mile run/walk. The races begin at 10 a.m. or 10:05 a.m., depending on your race. The event will be held rain or shine.
Registration forms are available on the Roseville Community Schools website at rosevillepride.org. For more information, call (586) 445-5675 or contact Tomala via email at TTomala@roseville.k12.mi.us.
Manfreda was a member of the school’s cross country, track and wrestling teams. District social worker and track and cross country coach Daniel O’Sullivan got to know the athletic teenager quite well.
“He came out for cross country in his freshman year,” O’Sullivan said. “He was just so committed. He ran so hard. He improved every year. He became a decent runner. You could tell he loved running. He tapped into it. He never missed a practice.”
In the spring of his ninth grade year, Manfreda was on the track team. He embraced the sport so much that O’Sullivan gave him a coach award. Manfreda not only improved as an athlete but made plenty of friends. He even started hanging out with members of the wrestling team and became a wrestler himself.
“He was such a great kid. He was a quiet kid. He was so great to everybody,” O’Sullivan said. “He had my cellphone (number) and we’d talk all the time.”
Because Manfreda did so well academically, O’Sullivan believes Manfreda would have been one of the top students in his class. The district staff member was in a meeting when he received a phone call that Manfreda had died. The social worker was notified that he would have to be at the high school media center the next day to provide counseling to students and staff.
“The kids were devastated,” O’Sullivan said. “I was going through grief and loss myself.”
At one point, he brought about 40 athletes in a separate room to talk about Manfreda. A vigil was held at the school in his honor. Classmates placed Chinese lanterns near the school’s track and released them into the air.
“His mom called and asked me to speak at the funeral. It was the toughest thing I ever did,” O’Sullivan said. “He was a real easy kid to talk about and an easy kid to coach.”
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