"I wanted to make a bigger difference": South Jersey student gives back through "Crayons for Courts"
Kids in court -- it can be a scary experience, and a local teenager wanted to change that. With a car full of boxes, Andrew Passalacqua gave back on Tuesday afternoon.
"I wanted to come out and I wanted to make a bigger difference," Passalacqua said.
The difference starts here at the Camden County Hall of Justice and through the Bishop Eustace Preparatory student's public service project called "Crayons for Courts."
Each plastic bin holds either crayons, coloring books or coloring sheets — thousands of them, in fact. All were purchased through nearly $3,000 in donations.
"We have over 6,000 packs of crayons. We have 3,000 coloring sheets, and we have over 2,000 coloring and activity books," Passalacqua said.
The purpose of all of this is to distract and entertain kids who have to sit in the gallery. The 17-year-old saw the anxiety the experience could cause firsthand after he sat in a courtroom with his mom, who is a judge. It was then he realized things needed to change.
"Even if it's 10 minutes, five minutes — as long as the kids are happy and it brings a smile to their face, that's all I care about," Passalacqua said.
He thanks everyone who helped him fulfill his mission, including Assignment Judge Deborah Silverman Katz. Passalacqua showed the judge the donations Tuesday.
"We are going to make this much bigger! This is just the first drop-off," Passalacqua said.
The high school student plans to continue expanding Crayons for Courts statewide.