SUSSEX COUNTY Students in Sussex County schools couldn't imagine never owning a brand new book, and enthusiastically supported a literacy service project organized by Northwest Jersey Reading Council to raise funds for Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program/First Book in Sussex County. Students in Newton High School, Halsted Middle School, Merriam Avenue Elementary School, Rev. George A. Brown Memorial School, Sparta Middle School, and Byram Middle and Intermediate Schools collected a total of $1,500. The monies collected in the schools will be eligible for a matching grant to provide even more books for county children. The federal law, "No Child Left Behind", challenges our county teachers to raise the standard and to teach all children to read proficiently. Research has shown that children who have books, and are read to one-on-one, are more successful than children without books. Unfortunately, even in Sussex County, there are children who do not own a book of their own, and do not read outside of school. Northwest Jersey Reading Council, with members from private, parochial and public county schools, wanted to make a difference for these children. This literacy service project, an example of kids helping kids. NORWESCAP/First Book in Sussex County is currently accepting grant applications from county social service programs that serve low-income children, to give them the opportunity to read and own their own first new books. Grant recipients can order books from publisher's catalogs and distribute them monthly. Since the inception of the this program in 2001, over 10,000 books have been awarded to Sussex County programs. Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program is a non-profit community action agency established in 1965 that creates opportunities for low-income people in northwest New Jersey by providing a large portfolio of self-sufficiency and emergency services. Its mission is "Fighting PovertyCreating OpportunitiesChanging Lives." Donations are always welcome and volunteers are always needed! Call Sharon Schultz at 973-383-3461, visit schultzs@norwescap.org, or drop by their offices at 186 Halsey Road in Newton.