Somerville Trucks Hurricane Sandy Donations to Somerville, New Jersey [Video]

A delegation from Somerville, including Mayor Joseph Curtatone and members of the Somerville Police Department, were scheduled to drive a U-Haul truck down to Somerville, N.J., Friday to bring donations to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Friday afternoon, members of the police department demonstrated their truck-packing capabilities in front of City Hall before heading south.

The U-Haul truck was filled with food, cleaning supplies and other items that are destined, ultimately, for the community of Highlands, N.J., where most of the town's 1,500 homes and nearly all of its businesses were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, which battered the area in October, 2012.

The donation effort is part of a

Brian Gallagher, mayor of Somerville, N.J., is coordinating the donation effort from his home state, and .

Our Somerville is the last of the three communities to send donations. In a written statement about the effort, Curtatone, who was monitoring the progress of yet another winter storm Friday afternoon, said, "Many times, in the aftermath of devastating events like earthquakes or hurricanes, we are quick to support victims in the weeks immediately following the storm. Yet we often forget that victim’s need can be even greater weeks and months later, as they try to rebuild and restructure their homes and lives." 

Curtatone and the other delegates planned to drive down Friday afternoon, spend the night, deliver donations to Highlands on Saturday, then drive back to Massachusetts Saturday afternoon.

The mayor's office highlighted the support and donations received from Market Basket, Stop & Shop and U-Haul. It also listed Boston Burger Co., The Burren, Flatbread Pizza at Sacco's Bowl Haven, Kickass Cupcakes, the New England Revolution, Redbones, Orange Leaf and Raytheon as local businesses that helped support the donation drive.

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Somerville/Summerville Hurricane Sandy Donation Effort Runs Dec. 10 to Dec. 22