Harleys For Hope was started as a tribute to the niece of one of our founders, her name Emily Friar.

At eight years old, Emily was your typical young girl. She loved running and playing with her friends, going to school, playing with her little sister, you know, all the things eight years old children love to do. Then, in just a blink of an eye, that all came to a halt. On December 13, 2012, we received the news that no parent ever wants to hear, “Your child has cancer”.  She was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia), the most aggressive form of Leukemia.  She fought the good fight and in April 2013, she was given a cancer free diagnosis.  We thought we had this disease beat, that is until Thanksgiving of 2013 when we got the news that the Leukemia had returned.  Emily spent 2 months of Chemotherapy and then traveling to Duke University for months Bone Marrow Transplant and 3 months of in-patient care before returning home. 

During her battle with Leukemia, she was given a brand-new Build A Bear stuffed animal.  This bear always put a smile on Emily’s face, and she always seemed to have it in her arms.  This bear became a beacon of hope and comfort for Emily.  Today, Emily is attending Radford University and is CANCER FREE!!

As a tribute and celebration to Emily’s battle and VICTORY against cancer, we collect donations all year long and use all proceeds collected to purchase Build-A-Bear stuffed animals that will be donated to charities that help children in their battles against Cancer, Autism as well as donating to the local shelter for women and children dealing with homelessness or escaping a domestic violence situations and to local Law Enforcement/First Responders Agencies to be used in incidents that involve children.