Hundreds Stuff Tractor Trailer In Moorestown For Ida Victims

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Hundreds of people recently helped fill a tractor trailer at the Moorestown Mall to help the victims of Hurricane Ida, according to the event’s organizers.

“Approximately 300 vehicles and hundreds of people dropped off supply donations,” said Nancy DiPasquale, whose family organized the challenge in the mall to parking lot to help hurricane victims in Louisiana.

She said residents came from all over South Jersey and Pennsylvania to donate items that would then be shipped to Terrebonne Parish in Houma, Louisiana by Bohren's Moving Company, which also donated the tractor-trailer.

“They arrived by car, truck, and even motorcycle, with packages of toilet paper strapped to the back,” DiPasquale said. “Because of the kindness of neighbors in South Jersey and Pennsylvania, people during the worst times of their lives will be helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. People they will never meet.”

It was the fourth Tractor-Trailer Challenge organized by the DiPasquale Family since 2012. The first challenge took place in Monmouth County, following Super Storm Sandy. The other two were in Moorestown, following Hurricane Irma in 2017, and Hurricane Florence in 2018.

“It was an opportunity to have neighbors come together, to connect with one another with a common goal of helping others when they need it most,” DiPasquale said.

“Everyone needs a helping hand every now and then, so why not help them,” Henry DiPasquale said. “It's always great to feel the warmth in helping others.”

Reverend and Mrs. Holmes from the Second Baptist Church of Moorestown were among those who donated to the cause. They had collected among their parishioners and brought a pickup truck full of supplies to the drop-off site.

“Seeing the entire area come together on one specific thing, and everybody cooperating towards this one goal, and they really accomplish it, it's really impressive,” Colin DiPasquale, 16, said.

Colin and his high school friends were the volunteers greeting donors, and organizing and packing the items inside the truck over the course of the two-day drive. For some, it was their third time volunteering at this event, along with their families.

The family of three has since formed a nonprofit organization, Local Acts of Kindness Foundation, offering additional town challenges and programs encouraging kindness among neighbors near and far. See related: Moorestown Teens Perform Virtual Show For Quarantined Seniors