SJ girl donates more than 1,300 books, money to Cooper
VOORHEES – Charlotte Olson helped lift the heavy box filled with books out of the silver van and placed it onto a nearby cart.
Others scurried around her, loading the carts with 1,303 age-appropriate books collected over a five-week period by the 12-year-old West Berlin girl. The books were then taken inside the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper’s outpatient Voorhees site on Tuesday afternoon.
On Valentine’s Day, Charlotte, her mother and her sister delivered a gift of love – although they said it wasn’t planned that way – which also included $220 for new books to be purchased.
The books were presented to physicians as well as staff, who will distribute them to patients at several sites throughout the year as part of the Reach Out and Read program Cooper has participated with since 1998.
“I had a dream of giving books to kids and having a book drive and helping out in my community this way,” Charlotte explained.
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She said her mom Vicky Olson tried to find an organization they could give the books to and they came across Reach Out and Read, a national nonprofit that incorporates books into pediatric care.
“I thought it was for a good cause,” said Charlotte, who decided to start the drive before Christmas. “... We had four different places that were collecting books for us.
“My goal was 1,000 but I didn’t expect to get over that. I kind of expected not to get that many but I’m surprised that we did.”
Charlotte and her family used social media to spread the word about the drive and also received assistance from their church and her homeschooling co-op. Her family placed a large collection box on their front porch and businesses such as Cutting Times Salon in Berlin, Angels of God Clothing Closet in Pitman, Family Health Centers of Thorofare and Moozie's Play Café in Turnersville.
“We got more than we ever could’ve imagined; I’m very proud,” said Olson, who added the nonfiction books that were donated and unable to be used by Reach Out and Read were taken to their church pantry and went out with gifts for Christmas.
The drive also allows Charlotte to work toward her community service award for the National American Miss New Jersey pageant for 2017. She has participated with the pageant for the last few years.
“The books that you gave, over 1,000 books collected is really a huge deal,” said Dr. Mohammed J. Hussain, a general pediatrician at Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper, who presented Charlotte with a plaque and other gifts of appreciation. “I appreciate how it’s going to help all my patients, I appreciate how it’s going to help the patients here in Voorhees, in Camden, Burlington, Washington Township. We’re going to spread these books all over.”
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Hussain said he enjoys giving out the books to patients. Cooper said it’s the largest book donation they’ve received.
“Our biggest needs is in books for little kids,” said Hussain, who works most often out of Camden. “They’re the ones we see most often in the offices. … These are not over 1,000 random books, these are 1,000 children’s books. That’s a really huge deal. I’m looking forward to giving these out on future visits and I know all the other doctors who work at Cooper are looking forward to it too.”
The first book was presented to 1-year-old McKenzie Griggs-Ross who was at the Voorhees site with her mom Martiana Griggs-Ross for her one-year checkup. They’re visiting Voorhees for a few months from San Diego, California, while her husband is on deployment.
“That is so nice,” Griggs-Ross said of the book.
Celeste E. Whittaker; (856) 486-2437; cwhittaker@gannettnj.com