Librarian Penny Gallop had no idea when she launched a bullying education program at Alexander Middle School, 3001 Old Alvin Road, Pearland, in January how far the effort would progress.

By the end of the school year, students who had been taught about caring for others were asking her to help them reach out beyond their Pearland campus to young hospital patients in Galveston.

“It was just a really, really neat project, and we got to turn it into something even better,” said Gallop, who delivered four boxes of student-made prayer pillows to the pediatric department at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Each prayer pillow came with a message, encouraging children to either enjoy their pillows or to pass them on to others.

“It carried the idea that someone out there was thinking about them,” said Cindy Riley, executive director of donation services for UTMB. “Mrs. Gallop told me the students felt great knowing it was going to someone stuck at the hospital.”

Gallop, a Dickinson resident who has been working in education for approximately 20 years, got the inspiration for Alexander’s bullying education program during the 2009 Texas Library Association conference.

She attended a workshop about the “Read It Forward” project, which calls for giving a group of students copies of Gordon Korman’s fictional tale, Schooled (Hyperion, $15.99). The book is about a middle school teen’s creative response to middle school bullying.

Essentially, the main character, Cap, was so kind, enthusiastic, even a little goofy at times, that he brought those around him to his level and won their friendship, Gallop said.

Instructions enclosed in the book ask students to add their name and the date they read the book after completing it, and then to pass it on to someone else.

Gallop, who dropped hints that something special was coming for weeks, bought 100 of the books, wrapped them, and placed them randomly in lockers before the winter break. Students were told they’d find a surprise in their lockers when they returned.

Gallop, along with Alexander administrators and counselors, complemented the books with regular talks about bullying and compassion for others.

She got the idea to add the pillow component while attending a Christian retreat with a friend. She was touched by the handmade prayer pillows recipients received, and she decided to give Alexander students a similar opportunity to reach out to others.

Alexander’s PTA purchased the materials necessary to make pillows and provided volunteers to help Gallop pre-cut the fabric for individual pillow kits that would be assembled by tying together the corners. Each package came with a note.

“Basically, it said if you’ve ever been bullied, this pillow is for you,” Gallop said.

Like the prayer pillow instructions, the notes gave recipients the option of keeping their pillow or passing it on to someone else.

The students also liked the idea of passing pillows on to others as a show of support.

One girl, who remembered hearing about the damage Hurricane Ike inflicted on UTMB, suggested giving the pillows to UTMB’s pediatric department. The idea stuck.

By the time the students finished assembling prayer pillows for the hospital patients, the school year was ending.

Gallop enlisted granddaughter Kirsten Gallop, who just completed sixth grade at Alexander, to help with the delivery.

“Our kids just loved it,” Gallop said.