Alec and Amanda are very cool because they're collecting books for sick kids.

Alec is a fifth grader at East Cooper Montessori Charter School in Charleston, South Carolina, and Amanda is a first grader. Their community service project is to help cheer up sick children at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital (MUSC).

"We have been doing this by sharing something with the children that we love very much-books. When we’re feeling sad or scared, we always feel better when we read a good book. So we collect, categorize and deliver books to the children at MUSC. The nurses give the books to the sick children who are in the hospital being treated and also to the children who come to the Clinic for Cystic Fibrosis, the Endocrine Clinic and the HEMOC Clinic. The children take the books home, so we also encourage reading that way too. We’ve been told that for lots of these kids, it’s the first time they’ve ever owned a book," says Alec.

The first year he did this project Alec collected nearly 1,000 books. The second year, he collected more than 2,000 books. This year he and Amanda met their goal of collecting more than 3,000 books, but they still want to do more. Alec has received the Prudential Spirit of Community award, and now he and Amanda are both officially Very Cool People.

~ K.L. ~