When he was in elementary school, Cullen South asked his dad why he had to go out of town a lot.
Cullen’s dad – Danny N. South, CMSgt – serves in the U.S. Air Force, so when Cullen asked him this question, his dad told him that part of his job was boarding a C-17 airplane to go help people all around the world by bringing them much-needed supplies.
Cullen would often miss his dad, but Danny gave him a special gift to make him feel better: a stuffed bear wearing a flight suit much like his own.
That bear sparked something in Cullen that made him want to help other children feel better too. Now he leads an annual drive in the Philip Simmons community to collect teddy bears that go to children in need.
As a small child, Cullen also enjoyed reading books that showed him all the interesting places that his dad traveled to on the C-17 airplane, so he added books into the mix.
“I wanted to make sure all kids who felt alone had something to make them feel better,” he said. “I like to read a lot, so books were part of it too.”
Cullen started this initiative, called Books and Bears, as a first-grader at Philip Simmons Elementary. Now he is leading the drive as a sixth-grader at Philip Simmons Middle.
His efforts have resulted in hundreds of donated books and teddy bears that go toward local children in need. Books and Bears returns this year during March 11-21, and South encourages anyone who is able to donate to please consider helping out – all three Philip Simmons schools are invited to participate.
Cullen will pick up the donated items on March 22.
That first year of the drive, Cullen made a slideshow presentation to share with Philip Simmons Elementary administrators to get them on board with the project. The slideshow included a hand-made poster Cullen made that featured teddy bears and books parachuting to the ground. Cullen got the go-ahead from the school to make the drive a reality. 
The drive took a two-year hiatus in Cullen’s second and third grade years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He resumed it in his fourth grade year at Philip Simmons Elementary before continuing the drive at the middle school.
The drive is back again this month – and he is still hoping to get all three Philip Simmons schools involved in supporting students all around the lowcountry.
Cullen said the school community has helped him “a good bit” in carrying on this endeavor. Last year, with the help of his fellow Iron Horses, Cullen donated more than 300 books to the Carolina Youth Development Center, 228 books and more than 100 bears and stuffed animals to Lowcountry Orphan Relief, and 230 books plus more than 100 stuffed animals to Anchor Ridge Ministries.
While those were satisfying numbers, there is no particular amount Cullen is shooting for – “I just want to give.”
Cullen said he has enjoyed leading this initiative, and that it makes him feel good to give back.
“There are some people that don’t have what we have,” he said.
Cullen is asking for new or well-treated books and bears to be dropped off at the schools, which he will later collect. Cullen said he is looking for a variety of books to share with local children; anything ranging from children’s books to teen books.
“I’m pretty excited,” he said. “It goes back to giving…it’s always kind of fun, every morning walking into the school and checking the boxes and seeing how many (donations) there are.”
There are boxes set up near the front offices at both PSM and PSE, and high school students can bring items to Cullen’s mom, English teacher Taylor South, in room 204.
Philip Simmons Middle Principal Charla Groves said it is not often that middle school students voluntarily seek to take on more work – but that is not the case for Cullen.
“It shows his heart for others and his desire to make a positive difference in the community,” she said, adding that for the past two years, Cullen as scheduled meetings with her to share his vision for the project and plan logistics and publicity.
Cullen has also updated the event poster; this year, he drew inspiration from the three schools’ namesake, famous blacksmith Philip Simmons.
Philip Simmons’s iron work is featured all around the Charleston area and beyond. His work is incorporated into the designs and curriculum of the three Berkeley County schools named after him – and a lot of his work features nature-inspired elements, such as plants and animals. Cullen opted to make the iron gate featuring a teddy bear on his poster.
Groves said she is proud of Cullen for continuing his hard work at the middle school level.
“I applaud him for his initiative and leadership,” Groves said.
Doing this service for children in the lowcountry makes Cullen want to find more ways to give back. He has a couple more years to go at the middle school, but he plans to continue the drive when he gets to Philip Simmons High – he also wants to try to expand and get other schools involved at some point.
“I hope this is something that makes other kids think about helping,” he said. “There are lots of things we can do for our community.”
