HUNTINGTON WOODS, Mich. – At just 5 years old, a little girl from Huntington Woods has already seen a lot.
"She can't walk, she can't move, she needs help getting up and down," said Brooklyn Brown's mother, Rychee Brown.
Brooklyn was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was 5 months old, which means she has taken many trips to the hospital, and while she was there, she noticed one thing that was in short supply.
Brooklyn loves to color. During her trips to the hospital, she learned that there is a shortage of crayons because once a child uses them, they have to be thrown out or taken home to avoid spreading germs to other patients.
Brooklyn decided she wanted to start a crayon drive so all of the children at the hospital could have crayons.
"I hope they make them feel better and not sick anymore and make them happy so they forget about their sickness," Brooklyn said.
Her goal was to collect 500 boxes of crayons but she's surpassed that goal and has already collected 3,000 boxes of crayons and the shipments keep coming in.
Brooklyn's mother said the response to the crayon drive has been overwhelming.
"People we don't know, co-workers, have been supportive," she said.
And there's no sign of stopping for Brooklyn. She wants to collect as many as possible before she delivers them to the Children's Hospital of Michigan on Martin Luther King Day.
"She's taken a tough thing. She's experienced a lot more pain that most adults can grasp and turned it into a really positive thing," Rychee Brown said.
To donate crayons to Brooklyn's crayon drive, you can follow this link.