The gift of a good book
12-year-old donates more than 1,300 books to Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper University Health Care.
West Berlin resident Charlotte Olson said when she was a little girl, she dreamed about having a book drive and donating those books to children.
She made that dream a reality this week when she gave more than 1,300 books to the outpatient office of the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper University Health Care in Voorhees and also raised $220 for new books to be purchased.
The books are aimed at ages 6 months through 5 years of age and will be distributed to patients not only in the Voorhees office, but offices in Camden, Burlington and Washington Township.
Pediatrician Mohammed Jawaad Hussain thanked Olson for her generosity and said these books will make a big impact.
“I really appreciate how it’s going to help all my patients here in Voorhees and the other offices; we’re going to spread these books all over,” he said. “It’s really amazing and thoughtful.”
Charlotte, 12, was inspired by the national Reach Out and Read program, a “nonprofit organization that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together.” Children’s Regional Hospital has been a Reach Out and Read participant since 1998.
She initially received more than 2,000 books, but after sorting through them, 1,303 were age-appropriate books for the children. Charlotte and her mother, Vicky, donated the remaining books for their church.
Charlotte started collecting books before Christmas of 2016 and her initial goal was to collect 1,000 books.
“I didn’t expect to go over 1,000; I didn’t expect to get that many, but we did,” she said. “It took five or six weeks. I’ve never seen that many books in my life.”
Vicky posted Charlotte’s mission on Facebook, and they left a box in their driveway for people to drop off books. Their church and home-school program also donated books, as well as local businesses that set up drop-off boxes.
“I’m super proud of her,” Vicky said. “We got more books than we ever could have imagined.”
Jawaad Hussain said one of his favorite things when he sees his patients is giving out books to them, and children’s books is the hospital’s biggest need.
“All these books, it’s not just 1,000 random books; it’s 1,000 children’s books, and it’s really a huge deal,” he said. “Our biggest need is books for little kids because they are the ones we see most often in the offices, and they are also the priciest books. Not all our families can necessarily buy them.”
He also said reading is a great way of learning and engaging with family members, and should be a part of a child’s life from an early age.
“There are some great studies that the more words kids hear before the age of 3, their better their language is,” Jawaad Hussain said. “It really makes a difference. It’s kind of hard to believe that just reading ‘Llama Llama Red Pajama’ three times a day can make a difference, but it’s actually a huge difference. Ten minutes with a book is far superior to even an hour or two hours of any educational television.”
One-year-old patient Mackenzie Griggs-Ross was the first patient to receive one of Charlotte’s books, and a smile came over her face the moment she touched the book. Her mother, Martiana, was surprised and grateful for the kind gesture.
“This makes me feel really happy because I like seeing people happy,” Charlotte said. “I’m never going to forget this.”
