Woodland Park boy donates 1,000 sanitizer sprays to town amid coronavirus concerns

A Woodland Park boy with a history of giving has used his philanthropy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Jayden Perez, 11, and his family will donate over 1,000 hand sanitizer sprays to the borough school district, fire department, police department and library as concerns around the spread of COVID-19 grow. 

"Jayden is the heart and soul of our community," Mayor Keith Kazmark said. 

The idea came to Jayden as coronavirus spreads in New Jersey, said his mother, Ana Rosado. 

"He was concerned that some students didn't have sanitizer because they were selling out everywhere," Rosado said. 

Rosado said she and Jayden got lucky and were able to order hand sanitizer spray in bulk toward the end of February. New Jersey's first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 was announced on March 4.  

The package of 1,500 sanitizer sprays arrived on Wednesday and Jayden, a fifth-grade student at Memorial Middle School, is planning on giving 1,000 of those to the Woodland Park school district, Rosado said. 

The borough's schools remained open as of Thursday, although Kazmark says the district is prepared for the effects of the outbreak.  

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Jayden also plans on giving 50 sanitizer sprays each to the police department, fire department and the local library. The remaining bottles will be given to neighbors and family, Rosado said. 

Jayden is no stranger to helping communities at home or abroad. In 2017, Jayden organized a toy drive for victims of Hurrican Maria in Puerto Rico and he collected over 1,000 toys for the children affected.  

Presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 reached 29 in the state as of early Thursday night — 13 of them in Bergen County — as tests become more frequent. 

Major League Baseball, the NBA and Major League Soccer have suspended play and several college tournaments have been canceled as a result of the outbreak. 

Anthony Zurita is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all the major news happening in North Jersey, subscribe here. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Email: zuritaa@northjersey.com Twitter: @AnthonyRZurita