SHAWNEE, Kan. — Everyone has a story. Inside a new store in Shawnee, Kansas, 13-year-old Halley Vincent wants to share seven stories with customers each month.
"We can’t carry hundreds of books at a time," Vincent said. "We just highlight seven different books and they’re for kids through adults."
It's the reason it's called Seven Stories. Vincent says it's a small store with a big heart.
"It really is a tiny shop and we care about the simple things, like writing notes and saying thank you to people," Vincent said.
The store hosts books clubs and "sketch and flow" events, where customers can come in to spend some quiet time to journal or sketch.
Select books and art pieces marked with "Paws Up KC" labels will benefit three metro animal shelters: Chain of Hope KC, Great Plains SPCA and the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City.
"The sticker will say proceeds benefit Kansas City animal shelters, so there’s no hidden percentage really," Vincent said. "It directly goes there."
Vincent is used to giving back. KSHB 41 first interviewed Vincent in 2019 about Paws Up KC, an organization she started at just eight years old.
She raised funds for animal shelters, provided items such as dog food and cat litter for the pets and later started a book mobile to provide hundreds of free and used books for families, which she continues to do today.
"I always like to compare it to pets because you don’t know what happened to them before," Vincent said about donating used books. "You don’t know how that played out when you get them or when you adopt them from a shelter, and I thought it was kind of similar with books because the book had a past life when it came from the book mobile. So it may be a little rough, but it could be a great book."
When she was first interviewed in 2019, Vincent said she figured out what the word philanthropist meant and wanted to be just that, saying it gives her joy and it's fun doing something for someone without expecting anything in return.
Now at age 13, she still shares that same sentiment.
"I really like the idea of that because why not help the community," Vincent said.
The store is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. The location is 11111 W 59th Terrace in Shawnee.
Vincent says she hopes people not only come and visit the store but bring animal shelter donations and donate books for her book mobile, if they are able.
