‘I want it to be my legacy.’ Boy’s Joy Cart has been bringing toys to sick kids for 20 years.

Jarrett Mynear would have turned 30 years old next week.

While some Central Kentuckians might not remember his name, many will remember his Joy Cart.

Jarrett was the boy who, despite having cancer himself, collected toys to deliver to other hospitalized children. He became a local celebrity and appeared on national television multiple times.

This spring marks 20 years of Jarrett’s Joy Cart.

Jarrett battled a rare form of bone cancer again and again from the time he was 2 years old until he ultimately succumbed to it at age 13. But the organization he started is still going strong and has sparked similar efforts around the country.

In recognition of the anniversary, Jarrett’s Joy Cart is hosting a fund-raising gala on Saturday, and a book telling Jarrett’s story has been revised and re-released.

“It just seemed like there was so much more to tell,” said FOX-56 news anchor Marvin Bartlett, the author of “The Boy Who Delivered Joy.”

Bartlett’s first book about Jarrett, “The Joy Cart,” was published in 2002, just months before Jarrett died, and had since gone out of print.

The new edition “includes details of Jarrett’s last wishes, his remarkable funeral, and how his desire to improve the pediatric cancer clinic at UK led to the formation of DanceBlue,” Bartlett said in an email.

The book is available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble and in store locally at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. A portion of the proceeds goes to Jarrett’s Joy Cart.

The book paints a vivid, and at times, heart-wrenching picture of a gregarious boy with a giving spirit and wisdom beyond his years.

“It’s not really about the toys,” Jarrett told Bartlett in one interview when he was barely 10. “It’s about giving the kids something to look forward to. “

Bartlett went on to ask Jarrett how long he wanted to offer the Joy Cart.

“As long as I’m able, I plan to keep The Joy Cart rolling,” he responded. “And if I ever can’t do it, I hope someone will keep it going in my name. I want it to be my legacy.”

“His empathy was like I’ve never seen,” said Jarrett’s mother, Jennifer Mynear. “He was an old soul in a child’s body.”

In the 16 years since Jarrett’s passing, Jennifer and Doug Mynear have continued and built on the work their son started.

On Tuesday nights, Jennifer Mynear and a group of volunteers keep up the ritual of carting toys to the children at Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

They still host the annual Holiday Store at Kentucky Children’s that Jarrett started so that pediatric patients can choose free gifts for their families.

But the nonprofit has gone on to do much more.

The organization helps pay for teaching models, iPads and other tools to help children at Kentucky Children’s Hospital better understand their medical conditions, Jennifer Mynear said.

And the organization is funding a $125,000 endowment for a sibling support program that will be offered through the University of Kentucky’’s pediatric palliative care program.

Mynear said the Joy Cart organization, which has no paid staff, tries to help all patients at Kentucky Children’s Hospital, not just those with cancer.

And, she said, “we’re still hoping for financial donations so we can expand the realm of what we do.”

Jennifer Mynear knows what Jarrett would say if he could see all that has been done in the years since he started the Joy Cart.

“What Jarrett would say is, ‘You’re doing a good job. This is what I expected. ... What else are you going to do?’”

That’s just how driven he was.

“He had no limits,” his mother said.

The organization accepts donations online and at Jarrett’s Joy Cart, P.O. Box 24526, Lexington, KY, 40524.

This story was originally published April 9, 2019 at 11:14 PM.