OWN CORRESPONDENT
“She was worried about other people first,” said Michael Lupinacci, her maths teacher at The Ramaz School in Manhattan. “She set an example for everybody.”
Moffson, 21, was one of three people killed in a bus crash in Honduras when the vehicle, which carried 25 Columbia and Barnard students on a volunteer mission organised by Global Brigades, plunged down a ravine.
The other fatalities were Columbia College sophomore Olivia Erhardt, 20, and Abigail Flanagan, 45, a general studies student and nurse practitioner at the Columbia University Medical Centre.
The bus was travelling to the airport to bring the students home after their weeklong trip providing medical care to poor neighbourhoods.
Moffson, who grew up on the East Side, died while helping others, which was always a big part of her life.
She was an Orthodox Jewess and attended school at Ramaz on the Upper East Side, a modern Orthodox prep school, and has been volunteering since her teens.
A source close to her said: “She devoted her life to doing chesed for others. Since she can no longer continue performing this chesed herself, we would like to continue to do chesed in her honour.”
The main donations will go to Magen David Adom and Chai Lifeline, organisations that Moffson was passionate about.
An appeal has gone out on Facebook as follows: “Daniella Moffson lit up the world with light and love. Please bake a challah in her memory this Thursday/Friday for Shabbos as an elevation to her unique and radiant soul. Our hearts are with the very special Moffson family. Let’s light up the world with her legacy.”
