Article by: ​Aisha Mbowe  &  Jason O. Boyd -http://www.wcti12.com/news/local-news/onslow/students-service-project-le...

RICHLANDS, Onslow County - Every story book starts with an idea.

Richlands Elementary School teacher James Orr pulled his idea from a familiar place. His book, "The Pencil Project," follows the story of a fourth-grade student named Colleen whose school project grows into something world-changing. It's a story inspired by Orr's real former student, Colleen Newbold, now a sixth-grader.

"I had an idea about the story and I just had to write it," said Orr. "To see a project that started just within our classroom and grow into something that we are sharing."

Orr assigned a project challenging students to come up with an idea that can change the world. Colleen decided on a project helping children across the world.

"He told her about how he went to Africa and these kids in this school were all sharing one pencil," Newbold said.

With the help of her mother, she worked to collect pencils to ship through the organization Develop Africa. Two years and more than 25,000 pencils later, the two are still going strong.

"To see her grow, she has blossomed so much throughout the whole process, just realizing that one person really can change the world," said Ivy Newbold, Colleen's mother.

It's a project that's not only making a difference but a story Orr can now share with the world.

"We take some small things for granted here that other people in other countries don't have to use," Collen Newbold said.

"The Pencil Project" is now available on Amazon and other sites that sell books.