From a Mets pitcher to pizza-delivering cops, people are spreading love in big ways and small – NJ.com

It’s a time of giving. You can’t scroll through your Facebook feed (or our #TogetherNJ page) without seeing stories of donations large and small. Whether it’s United Airlines delivering 15,000 pounds of food to New Jersey food banks, or Mazda car dealerships offering free oil changes, or teachers making videos for the students they miss – everyone is giving back to help lift spirits and help out during the coronavirus pandemic.

In towns up and down New Jersey, residents are donating food, PPE, and more to police departments to thank and help officers working on the frontlines. This week, cops in Burlington County flipped the script, and used donated funds to buy 275 pizza pies to give out to residents as a way to thank them.

“The idea was, first we wanted to help out some of the local businesses,” Police Chief Stephen Ent said. “Second, we wanted to make sure people continue to adhere to the stay-at-home order. And thirdly we just wanted to put smiles on people’s faces. We personally delivered to a few houses and left the rest up to the pizza delivery people.”

It’s that giving spirit that inspired NJ.com to launch #TogetherNJ, an initiative meant to highlight all the ways, large and small, New Jerseyans are showing love to one another amid the crisis.

Here’s a look at some of this week’s #TogetherNJ stories:

After Glen Ridge Police Officer Charles “Rob” Roberts was rushed to a hospital April 22 with serious complications from coronavirus, his fellow officers wanted to help. They took part in a vigil outside his hospital window in Essex County. Then, knowing Roberts’ love for the New York Mets, they went a step further.

Mariam Aziz is an 18-year-old EMT. She told her story to NJ Advance Media.

Our readers saw Dominick Luizza’s story of waiting 38 days and counting for unemployment benefits and wanted to help.

“There are a list of things I want but don’t actually need,” the nine-year-old said. “There are people who are scared to come out their house, so I decided to bring stuff to the food pantry so they could be happy.”

Over the past 20 months, this phys ed teacher has cooked up pulled pork, brisket, mac and cheese and more, giving back over $30,000 to a host of charities and community organizations.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation will help pay the mortgage for the family of Francesco “Frank” Scorpo, a Paterson Police officer who died Easter Sunday due to complications from COVID-19.

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For more than a month, Pedro Gonzalez was fighting for his life at Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus as the coronavirus attacked his lungs.

While the demand for oil has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, one industry giant has turned part of its industrial might toward producing something in high demand these days — hand sanitizer.

Every morning, Linda Roseman hides stuffed animals in the front yard of her Freehold Township home. Then it’s up to the neighborhood children to see if they can spy them all.

Normally, students at the Purnell School spend 10 months of the year at the New Jersey boarding school with their classmates. Now, that student base is spread out after what started out as time off for spring break extended into a months-long quarantine.

When Reverend Michael Way was asked to perform Last Rites for a Christ Episcopal Church parishioner suffering from the coronavirus, the Middletown priest initially planned to administer the sacrament over the phone.

Have you seen an inspiring story in your community during this troubling time? Tell us about it. And, see more uplifting stories in #TogetherNJ.

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Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com.