Molly’s Kids: Hartley Plyler is collecting books for pediatric patients

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Hartley Plyler is a longtime one of our #MollysKids who is no longer a kid herself. She has graduated from ClemsonLIFE and though still in treatments, doing great.

She and her amazing mom and dad, Charles and Lucy, came to the book signing this weekend to explain what Hartley is doing this holiday season. It’s remarkable. Please read on.

Hartley approached her parents a couple months ago wanting to, originally, do a toy drive to help the kids at UNC Children’s - North Carolina Children’s Hospital. She later found a toy drive wasn’t allowed through the hospital, but new books could be sent to Kathy’s Korner. That group provides pediatric patients with books. The books are one-use books, meaning, the kids can keep and take them home when they leave the hospital.

Why did Hartley want to help kids in a hospital over the holidays? Because she used to be one of those kids. In 2017, her parents realized how often she’d been a kid in the hospital over Christmas when, that year, Hartley received a trip from the Fill Your Bucket List Foundation.

They sent her to Raleigh for the Avett Brothers concert. The concert was “awesome” and she got to meet band member Bob Crawford, who many of you might know, has a daughter with uphill medical battles. Afterwards Hartley said to her parents,

“This is the first holiday I’ve been on a trip not for a surgery or procedure, just to have fun.”

Her parents were blown away. Over the years they’d scheduled many surgeries and procedures on holiday weekends to not use their PTO. In the many #MollysKids stories told here, I’d never once thought that might be WHY hospitals are full on holidays: That’s when parents have time off work. Makes total sense. I’m sure many families do the same.

Hartley, however, was very aware this is how she spent her holidays. She, smartly, created an Amazon.com wish list to make it easy for you to donate a book. I’m putting that direct link at end of this post. She’s collecting from now until December 28th.

Through her own social media and word of mouth, she already collected over 230 books.” Small Victories” and “The Juggle is Real” are just two of them. Gave them to her yesterday. If you’d like to get any books to Hartley for kids at UNC Hospitals, just know all books must be new, and mailed sometime before Christmas.

If you’re not using the Amazon wish list (again, it’s below), you can mail them to: Hartley Plyler PO Box 392 Ellenboro, NC 28040

Amazon wish list link >> https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2M1K0L5V9OWCV/?ref_=lol_ov_le&filter=unpurchased&sort=default&viewType=grid#list-settings_1667323541299

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