Hello! My name is Ezekiel Kimble and I am the founder of the Next Page Initiative! Although I am now a happy, healthy, and thriving high school senior, there was once a time where I was a childhood cancer patient myself. In 2021, when I was only 12 years old, I was diagnosed with T-Cell Leukemia. Throughout my battle with cancer—where I was essentially living inside of my Kaiser Roseville hospital room—I turned to my favorite novels as a means of escape from the pressing daily realities that every cancer patient is all too familiar with. Slowly but surely, I went from waking up fearing what I might have to deal with that day, to looking forward to what I might read in the next chapter. Barnes and Noble became a second home for me, and the joy I felt while reading whatever book I chose for that week gave me the strength and resilience to endure until 2024, when I was able to ring the bell and close that chapter of my life. I was lucky enough to have an amazing support system of family and close friends who were able to finance my reading addiction, but some don't have that same luxury. That is why I started the Next Page Initiative: to create that same joy within kids who are undergoing cancer treatment today, and give them comfort and an escape until they can flip to the next page.