Girl Scouts Donate 500 Books to Special Needs Students

Special needs students in Maryland and Washington, D.C., now have 536 books to read, courtesy of a group of Elkridge Girl Scouts.

During the first two weeks of February, Girl Scouts Maggie Hicks and Katie Danieli launched a book drive to collect gently used books with support from their troop at .

The two girls embarked on the project to earn their Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can receive, which requires at least 20 hours dedicated to a project bettering one's surroundings.

Hicks said she "loved reading and wanted others to learn to love it too."

They donated the books to special needs programs at  in Laurel and Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., schools where troop parents teach.

The Girl Scouts have high hopes that the books, which the parents delivered on Feb. 27, will help open a new chapter in the lives of other students.

Said Danieli: "Reading opens the imagination, and with a new variety of books, the kids' imagination could be sparked, and they would want to keep reading."