Businesses and individuals continue their goodwill gestures toward medical workers and first responders with donations of food, supplies and money as the coronavirus pandemic grips New Jersey in its third month.
Hackensack University Medical Center and Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth recently received $50,000 each from Elmwood-Park based Spencer Savings Bank to support these institutions as they battle the virus and care for patients.
“The hospital workers – doctors, nurses, entire medical teams and their support divisions – are all on the frontlines of this pandemic. They are our heroes,” said Jose B. Guerrero, Spencer Savings Bank’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We join communities all over the state of New Jersey in clapping for them! Thank you for the countless sacrifices you continue to make - risking your own lives to save ours.”
The coronavirus outbreak around the state has now claimed at least 8,952 lives, with 135,454 total cases, according to the latest update by state officials Friday.
Hackensack University Medical Center also saw its health care employees receive over $1,000 in food donations from a local DJ and his company along with four area restaurants.
Jonathan Lopez, founder of LIVE.LOVE.DANCE Charity and LIVE LOVE DANCE ENTERTAINMENT, partnered with Bagel Brunch of Passaic, Pupusa Loca of Paterson, Mama Ana’s Empanadas of Totowa and Steve’s Burgers of Garfield to distribute food to the hospital’s workers in its ICU, emergency room and labor/delivery units. Eight-year-old local singing sensation Jacob Lopez, known as Jacobido, chipped in with desserts for the health care employees.
"It was a privilege to be able to offer some form of comfort to those who have been working literally nonstop to help keep this pandemic at bay," Jonathan Lopez said. "We know the stress medical professionals are under right now."
With around a million people unemployed around the state, Montvale-based Benjamin Moore donated $100,000 to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and Frontline Foods, two organizations that are assisting all affected individuals. The contribution will help the groups give 230,000 meals to residents and health care workers around the Garden State.
Benjamin Moore has also ramped up production of hand sanitizer at its Newark facility, where it has been making paint for nearly 100 years, to donate the sanitizer to the New Jersey State Police force as well as medical professionals at hospitals and other facilities around the state.
Victor Delapa, owner of the trendy MoonShine Modern Supper Club in Millburn, has been working harder than ever since his restaurant shut down due to the coronavirus. Friends and community members have donated to help him on his next venture -- cooking delicious hot meals for delivery to the area’s essential front line workers fighting the pandemic.
Delapa and his executive chef, Edward Gruters, have been kind enough to put in hours six days a week to provide food and personally bringing it to health care workers at University Hospital in Newark, VA Hospital in East Orange, St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston as well as the Millburn Police Department, Millburn Fire Department and First Aid Squad in Millburn.
This week, Delapa and Gruters delivered to medical employees at Palisade Hospital in North Bergen and Summit Medical Group in Florham Park.
As adult care homes have bore the brunt of the coronavirus across the country, Planned Companies of Parsippany recently donated face masks to two facilities to help keep their residents safe.
Planned Companies President and CEO Robert Francis personally delivered the masks to New Jersey Veterans Home at Paramus and Atrium Post-Acute Care of Park Ridge last month.
“We wanted to do something impactful and significant to help these facilities as well as protecting those who are putting themselves at personal risk to provide exceptional care to residents at these facilities," Francis said.
“It's great to see so many businesses in our community, like Planned Companies and its employees, finding ways to support North Jersey and the most vulnerable among us," said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). It's vital that we all work to ensure our long-term care facilities, veterans homes, and nursing homes have the resources and equipment they need to fight these outbreaks."
Last month, the Colts Neck Business Association partnered with food market Delicious Orchards to donate 100 gift cards to health care workers at Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel who are fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We wanted to say thank you to the nurses and other front line medical professionals who are continuing to serve our community during this challenging time” said Dino Nicoletta, President of the Colts Neck Business Association.
Every year, the Rotary Club of Vineland usually gathers over a hundred volunteers to assemble and distribute about 20,000 meal packets to local food banks as part of its Hunger Project.
This year, the coronavirus outbreak did not deter their continued goodwill. The club was able to still able to deliver food to their local communities with 233 meal boxes.
Although they were unable to reach the numbers as previous years due to the pandemic, they were still able to deliver food boxes, in partnership with Full Cart, which is operated by Feeding Children Everywhere, the same charity that the cub works with each year on the Hunger Project. The boxes were each filled with enough items to feed a person three meals for three weeks or a family of three for a week.
“We were obviously unable to do the project the same way this year,” said Rotary President Frank Rumick. “So instead we used the funds to purchase 233 meal boxes to accomplish our goal.”
