Penn student’s book drive nonprofit aims to comfort pediatric cancer patients across Philly region

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Books were a form of self-care for Emily Bhatnagar when she was a child, offering her comfort and escape. What began as a way to share that lifeline with other kids has grown into For Love and Buttercup, a nonprofit that has donated tens of thousands of books to children with cancer across the country.

Since 2019, the University of Pennsylvania student has been caring for her father, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 thyroid cancer while she was still in high school in Maryland.

While Bhatnagar initially tried to balance her father’s care with her school obligations, she found it to be too overwhelming.

“I had taken a year and a half off from high school to just take care of my dad,” she said. “I tried to do both during COVID. In between online classes, and then during my five-minute breaks, I would be rushing to tube feed him or give him his medications.”

She reasoned that school will always be there, so she prioritized caring for her dad.

As a way to cope in the meantime, Bhatnagar reflected on her goals and turned to her passions – one of which was to comfort and cheer up children with cancer. She explained she has always liked spending time with kids, and wanted to help children who are in a similar position to her father.

“I like to put myself into the shoes of maybe a 4-year-old or a 7-year-old child who’s in a hospital room during Christmas, and they look at the windows and there’s snow outside, and they want to play and make a snowman or a snow angel so bad, but they’re in a hospital room,” she said. “And I don’t think that should define them. I think that there is so much to look forward to as soon as they get better, and I know they will.”

‘A small neighborhood project’

Wondering what she could do to help pediatric cancer patients, Bhatnagar remembered her love of books. As a young kid, she sometimes struggled to make friends, she said. Books became an escape.

“Growing up, I was very shy,” she said. “I had the worst social anxiety.”

So she decided to organize a book drive for young patients. It started as a small ask: book donations from neighbors on the NextDoor app.

“I was expecting to have a really hard time looking for new books, but my inbox was flooded with messages of kind neighbors saying, ‘Yeah, we have books, come on over,’” she said. “So, my brother and I spent that whole summer basically driving house to house, picking up books.”

That small side gig developed into For Love and Buttercup, Bhatnagar said.

“It first started as a small neighborhood project to help me cope,” she said. “But in a way, it’s done countless things to me that I don’t think any medicine or therapy could have done. And it later became, ‘Oh, wait, I think this is my dream career that I accidentally got into.’”

Her story went viral from there. She received national recognition from outlets like Good Morning America, The TODAY show and The Washington Post. This helped her scale her mission even further.

“I was able to start an Amazon wish list for completely brand new books, which are perfect, especially because the kids are immunocompromised, and sometimes having something completely brand new is even better,” she said.

Bhatnagar’s reach has expanded across the U.S., donating over 25,000 books since she started her nonprofit at age 17.

And her impact extends to her “home away from home,” Philadelphia.

“Philly was the first place my mom immigrated to, and where she first moved to in the United States, so I just knew I wanted to do a holiday book drive in Philly this year,” she said. “I think Philadelphia will always feel like a home away from home for me, like it’s just sort of where my American roots are, in a way.”

She is donating books across the Philadelphia area to children who are spending this holiday season in hospitals, including St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Penn State, and to various pediatric support groups in the area. She said her book drive this year is based on a book series called The Tales of Charlie Wags.

“I wanted the kids who are maybe staying in the hospital rooms and can’t explore and go out in the snow to have a book that can help them travel beyond their imagination,” she said. “So in the book, Charlie Wag is a sweet puppy, and with the wag of his tail, he’s able to travel to different countries in each series.”

She says she wants to use these books to inspire awe and imagination in children.

A new perspective

Bhatnagar said she sometimes struggled to find balance while caring for her father. At first, she said, it felt like she needed to be with him 24/7.

“When I started, I was really struggling with anxiety with going back and forth between tube feeding, medications, doctor’s appointments, and just spending every second I could with him,” she said. “And that’s what I wanted to do: spend every imaginable second with him. Later, I learned that is not possible for any human being, no matter how much you love them.”

The book drive helped her create space for other hobbies and cope with her father’s diagnosis.

“It was kind of a source of expression, and I was able to devote a lot of my time to something I cared about so deeply, books and little children,” she said. “I think I have a soft spot for little children, because growing up, like, I was the one shy kid.”

She said the nonprofit has never felt like a job.

“It was a distraction, in some sense, but it also made me realize that if the worst thing happens, I still have something to look forward to,” she said. “There’s so much hope and humanity I see in this project, from people I speak to and visit, and they tell me how cancer has touched their lives, and it’s so beautiful and meaningful, and it’s really opened my eyes. If the worst happens and I lose my dad, like, I’m not alone in this.”

Two years ago, Bhatnagar decided to continue her education.

“I’m currently doing a virtual program at Penn so I can still be in Maryland and travel and take care of my dad,” she said.

In addition to organizing book drives, Bhatnagar does speaking engagements and events at elementary schools – something she never imagined for herself before.

“Going into For Love and Buttercup, I realized, ‘Oh, wait, I love yapping to people. I can yap all day long,’” she said. “And I get to travel for that, which is really fun.”

For anyone looking to donate to this year’s holiday book drive, which goes through the end of January, Bhatnagar said, there are several options.

“The easiest way is through my Amazon wishlist, if you wanted to donate brand-new books,” she said. “Another way is to DM me on Instagram and say, ‘Hey, I have books I wanted to donate.’ I would be happy to personally coordinate shipping or even pick up if I’m in Philly.”

Bhatnagar has received multiple awards for her work, including being named the CNN Young Wonder of 2023. She documents the continuing journey of For Love and Buttercup social media.

“I think the easiest way to see updates of all the hospitals and interact is through my Instagram,” she said. “I like to treat it like a personal diary for anyone who knows who I am, which is really fun.”