South Jersey Pre-Teen's Mission: Provide Books For Hospitalized Children

By David Madden

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- An eleven-year-old boy from Collingswood, NJ has taken to heart the concept of "paying it forward," and the patients at the Children's Regional Hospital, part of the Cooper Health System, are now the beneficiaries of his efforts.

Dakota Williams, a fifth grader at Tatem Elementary School, has a cousin with autism and always wanted to do something to help.

Then fate took a hand.

"My brother was in the hospital, and my parents told me that there's a lot of kids here and there wasn't many books and they seemed kind of restless," Dakota recounted today for KYW Newsradio.

So he and his parents gathered more than 2,000 children's books in about a month from family, friends, and neighbors. Those books are now going to Cooper as part of the hospital's annual "Love to Read" book drive.

Dean Williams, Dakota's father, couldn't be prouder: "The compassion that he showed for his brother being sick in the hospital, and then wanting to give back."

He says he expects Dakota will continue gathering books for charity.

Dakota says his dream is to be a wrestling announcer. In the meantime, he's certainly proven his determination to succeed.