![]() She even gets a helping hand from the guy who was the catalyst behind it all. Bhatnagar receives donations through an Amazon wishlist. “It would be a dream come true to be able to benefit hospitals that are a little further away from Maryland,” she says. For now, Love and Buttercup's HQ is a corner inside her family’s food preparation business, she hopes to expand one day, and is filing for 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit. She’s going full steam ahead on the book drive, too. “Full circle, that’s what it is,” she says.Ĭurrently, Bhatnagar is on a gap year, working two jobs to save up money for college. In January 2021, Bhatnagar also donated to MedStar Georgetown University, where her father was treated for cancer. “They’re on my mind even though they’re across the world now.” “I still think about the kids I met,” she says. and world as their children undergo clinical research studies. The Children’s Inn at NIH provides free housing to families around the U.S. Murphy Children’s Hospital.īhatnagar calls meeting the children at the Children’s Inn at NIH the “best day” of her life. ![]() area, including Children’s National Hospital, Children’s Inn at NIH, Holy Cross Hospital and Inova L. Now, almost two years following the first book drive, Bhatnagar has collected and donated about 15,000 books to local hospitals in the Washington, D.C. She and her 21-year-old brother would drive around town together picking up books. On July 11, 2021, she wrote a post on the community-centric app Next Door asking neighbors to donate used books for children of all ages, from infants to teenagers. Books always made her happier as a child, so why not organize a book drive for pediatric cancer patients to bring joy to their lives, too? I thought about how terrifying that would be.”įrom there, the lifelong avid reader got an idea. “Imagine being that young and having to go through that and not understanding it fully. “I thought, There’s a child out there who’s fighting the same or a similar battle as my dad,” she says. While grappling with her anxiety, as well as depression and an eating disorder spurred by the pressure of his diagnosis, Bhatnagar says she felt lost and empty.Īnd she began thinking about the thousands of children in her dad’s shoes, also facing a life-upending cancer diagnosis. So Bhatnagar pressed pause on high school for almost the entirety of her senior year. At that point my anxiety was so bad I had to take a break from high school.” Bhatnagar has collected and donated about 15,000 books to local hospitals. “I wanted to spend more time with him just in case anything were to happen. “I would tube feed him during my small breaks,” she tells over the phone. ![]() She also took on the added responsibility of being a caregiver for her father. The next year, with the pandemic in the background, Bhatnagar balanced virtual school and her shifts at Monsoon Kitchens, her family’s prepared food store in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In late 2019, Bhatnagar and her family received the news no one wants to hear: Her father, Mike Bhatnagar, whom she calls her best friend, was diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer. I wish that so badly for them that they can still feel that innocence.” “That’s exactly what I want these kids undergoing chemo treatment to feel. “I thought about how (buttercup flowers) represent everything pure and innocent and happy in the world,” she says. Bhatnagar and her father, who she calls her "best friend." Courtesy Emily Bhatnagar Since 2019, Bhatnagar has donated over 15,000 books to children undergoing cancer treatment through her book drive, For Love and Buttercup. Now 19, Bhatnagar says books have remained a source of solace - and have given her a sense of purpose.
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