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2 CT-area children featured in new book series, Young Change Makers
Two local children have made a national name for themselves by doing good in the world, and their accomplishments will be celebrated in a new book series, Young Change Makers. Written by bestselling author Stacy C. Bauer, Young Change Makers is a 7-book series featuring more than 80 trailblazing youth from around the world who are taking action to change their communities in positive ways.
Through this motivating and uplifting series, Bauer hopes others will be inspired to make a difference.
“This series is near and dear to my heart,” she says “These kids are amazing and inspiring, and I am hoping to use the series to inspire kids and adults to take action in a positive way and make the world a better place.”
Bauer, an educator, wanted others to know the stories of ordinary kids who were doing extraordinary things, which was her inspiration for writing the series.
“I created Young Change Makers because I kept having recurring thoughts about using my author voice to write about kids making a difference and inspiring change,” Bauer says. “These are some absolutely incredible kids. From raising money to help the sick, to planting over a billion trees worldwide, these kids are so caring, inspiring, selfless, and kind. They are taking action to spread joy and love, and I am so excited to share their stories.”
The featured children are:
Oliver Koenig-Paquin, 9
Nine-year-old Oliver’s dream is to make sure every boy and girl has a pair of new pajamas that keep them warm and cozy at night! He started collecting pajamas at age 4 through Oliver’s Pajama Project. That year, he collected 122 pairs by asking friends and family to help. Since then, that number has grown every year, and in all, Oliver has collected more than 5,000 pairs. His goal this year is 7,000 pairs.
“I felt like it wasn’t fair that other kids didn’t have pajamas,” Oliver says. “I feel good knowing that kids are going to get these pajamas, and feel safer, warm and snuggly going to sleep, not in their daytime clothes.”
Christian Stone, 11
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christian Stone's community experienced heavy snowfall. Christian knew the doctors, nurses, and other staff at the local hospital were working overtime to help those who were sick. He wanted to do something that would help ease their burden. After brainstorming with his family, Christian decided to clear the snow off of vehicle windshields in the parking lot. When drivers used their remotes to start or unlock their cars, Christian and his friends rushed over to the car and cleaned it off as quickly as possible.
"I was thinking they've been helping us a lot through this whole pandemic, and I figured why don't we help them, you know?" Christian says. "All day, every day the nurses here, they deal with the pandemic like Covid and they want to get home from work, so we thought we would make it a tiny bit easier for them by cleaning off their cars for them."
Young Change Makers books are available for preorder here.
