Autistic 15-year-old helps sick children by donating thousands of crayons and colouring books

He spent nearly a year collecting toys, gift cards, and colouring materials for children with cancer

A general view of the atmosphere at the Brooks Brothers Beverly Hills summer camp party benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 3 June 2017 in Beverly Hills, California (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

A 15-year-old boy has donated 15,000 crayons and 1,500 colouring books to help sick children in hospital.

Carter Crockett, a first year student at Millville High School near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said: "I’m putting my autism on the side so I can help them."

“The fact that he was feeling compassion toward other people is huge because that’s not something that autistic kids have – that’s really hard for them to do,” Carter's mother Patti Crockett told the local Fox News affiliate.

Carter came up with the idea one day over dinner at a restaurant that was raising funds for St Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

They primarily treat children with cancer at no cost to their parents and families.

Carter spent nearly a year collecting items from family and friends to help these children.

The restaurant where he came up with the idea, Chili's, also donated gift cards, t-shirts, toys, hats, and other items.

Ms Crockett, Carter, and two friends loaded all the items into a camper van and took a road trip to deliver the items in person at St Jude's.

“Well, everyone loves to colour...and I thought, maybe I could bring colour back into their lives by donating crayons and colouring books," said Carter.

He arrived at St Jude's to cheers from the staff and was honoured by the Millville Police Department for his charitable efforts.