Officers across the country have been doing their part to fight COVID-19 throughout the past two months. Port Authority Local 116 is no exception.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Port Authority’s Widow’s and Children’s Fund has promised to donate 100 percent of its proceeds to decontamination spray and personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line first responders.
Local 116 has also taken the time to help out local hospitals from supplying first responders with food to recognizing those workers have gone above and beyond for their patients.
On April 27, members of Local 116 donated a Metropolitan Farm gift certificate worth $450 to Hackensack University Medical Center morgue attendant Tanisha Brunson-Malone. Brunson-Malone was using her own money to purchase flowers to lay on the body bags of those who passed away as a result of COVID-19. When Local 116 heard that Brunson-Malone was using her own money, they wanted to present her with the gift card so she could continue to honor the victims.
Members didn’t stop there. Around the same time that they gave Brunson-Malone the gift card, they also partnered with the Italian American Police Society of New Jersey to feed the staff at Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth. Local 116 was one of several departments helping to feed front-line workers; others include Union County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Police Department, Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and Union Township Police Department.
