Morgan Freeman didn’t plan to become a nurse. In fact, she was once a biomedical engineering student at East Carolina University. But one summer, everything changed.

During a shadowing job at a prosthetics clinic in her hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, Freeman helped a 3-year-old girl take her first-ever steps. The child had struggled to trust anyone, even her parents, enough to wear her prosthetic. But she trusted Freeman.

“I was jumping up and down, I was so proud of her,” Freeman said. “I had so much respect for her and her courage that she had. It was just so exciting for me. I wanted to do that more for other kids.”

In that moment, Freeman found her calling. She left engineering behind and began a new path; one rooted not just in science, but in connection, trust and care.

Today, Freeman is a pediatric nurse who brings that same spirit to her work every day at the Betty H. Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital, part of Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. Recently, she found a new way to extend that care beyond the bedside by helping to bring comfort, imagination and a sense of normalcy to young patients through something simple: books.

Turning an idea into something bigger

The idea started small.

During a staff meeting, Freeman’s manager mentioned that the unit’s supply closet could use a refresh. There were plenty of toys and blankets, but not many books.

For Freeman, that gap stood out.

She talked with her husband, Tanner Freeman, a captain with New Hanover County Fire Rescue who is involved with the local firefighters’ unions and their charitable efforts. Together, they saw an opportunity to tap into the generosity of the Wilmington community.

What began as a simple idea — a book drive to gather a few donations — quickly gained momentum.

A community shows up

Freeman and her husband created flyers and book drop-off boxes to place in local city and county sheriff’s offices, fire stations and libraries. The fire department unions worked to spread the word through social media and community networks.

Freeman said they anticipated collecting a couple of hundred items. But they quickly realized their expectations were being surpassed. Some of the book drop-off boxes needed to be swapped out because they were full and breaking under the weight.

“The community outreach was huge,” Freeman said. “It was a lot bigger than we ever expected.”

The firefighters union members, who Freeman said were “the heart” of the project, stepped in to manage the influx, labeling books and organizing the collection. On delivery day — the day before New Year’s Eve 2025 — fire trucks arrived at the hospital, loaded with donations. A total of 1,500 books.

More than just books

For pediatric patients, a hospital stay can be disorienting and stressful. Routines are disrupted. Familiar comforts are replaced with medical equipment, procedures and long hours in one room.

That’s where the books come in.

The new book donations will be housed in the pediatric unit’s spacious playroom, where a large wall-length cabinet will soon be lined with stories for every age — from young children to parents.

“It’s something families can access whenever they need it,” Freeman said. “It gives them a moment that feels normal.”

A bedtime story. A quiet distraction. A shared experience between parent and child. In a place where so much feels uncertain, these moments matter.

And there are more than enough books to go around. The collection is so large that Freeman is sharing surplus donations with other locations within the hospital, like the neonatal intensive care unit.

What started as a one-time effort is now becoming something more lasting.

“Everyone’s excited for it to be an annual thing now,” Freeman said.

Creating comfort in unexpected ways

For Freeman, the book drive is an extension of how she approaches nursing. Pediatric care, she explained, isn’t just about treating a patient — it’s about building a bridge of support.

“We’re not just taking care of the person that’s in the bed, we take care of parents and siblings,” Freeman said.

That can mean administering medication or preparing a child for a procedure. But it can also mean sitting on the floor to play with a toddler, joking around with a teenager, cuddling a baby, or offering reassurance to families during a difficult moment.

Nurses help create a sense of normalcy for a patient who is admitted to the hospital, and support for their whole family unit, while providing education and empowerment.

“Sometimes it’s about creating magic for kids,” Freeman added.

Books, in that sense, are a natural fit. They offer escape, comfort and connection.

Full circle

Freeman still remembers her second grade teacher, Mrs. Travis at Gregory Elementary School, reading aloud from the “Junie B. Jones” series every afternoon.

“I can still hear her voice say the intro to every single book,” she said.

Now, through the book drive, she’s helping create those same kinds of memories for the next generation — islands of calm, imagination and care in the middle of something much harder.

For Freeman, it’s also a way of giving back to the region that shaped her.

“This community made me who I am,” she said.

And now, through her work and through 1,500 donated books, she’s helping return that kindness, one child, one family and one story at a time.