Comfort dolls shipped to Haiti
Sioux Falls, S.D.Looking for a way to provide comfort to the youngest Haiti earthquake victims, staff members at the Good Samaritan Society’s National Campus in Sioux Falls, S.D., created more than 140 one-of-a-kind dolls for children.
“Dolls are often used as a therapeutic tool to help children who have been through a traumatic or life-altering situation,” says staff member Terry Zerfas. “When a doll is handmade, the love and care put into the doll while being created provides a special bond between the maker and the child who receives it. This makes the doll a very special item to help in comforting a child.”
Terry had read about several groups across the nation that provide comfort dolls to children in crisis situations, and she wondered if National Campus staff members would be interested in making dolls for Haitian children. She contacted the campus’ Prayer Shawl Ministry — which creates prayer shawls for residents, co-workers and friends in need throughout the year —to see if they would like to be involved.
The group embraced the idea and quickly organized the project to get the dolls to children as soon as possible. Terry found a basic pattern for the dolls so that a crafter of any skill could make them. The dolls are made simply so that a child of any age can play with them, and there is no risk of choking hazards from tiny, removable parts like buttons.
“Some volunteers provide the materials, some knit or crochet the dolls, and others provide the ‘personality’ by embroidering the facial features, stuffing the dolls and adding special touches in hair styles or clothing embellishments,” Terry says. “Each doll is a one-of-a-kind creation.”
The goal was to create 50 dolls, but the group quickly tripled that amount. After the dolls were blessed at a devotion service at National Campus, staff member Angie Johnson collected them to be shipped with shoes her church had been collecting to send to Haiti.
“The dolls are so charming and unique that many inquiries have been made to have them specially made for other children in the future,” Terry says. Members of the Prayer Shawl Ministry are continuing to make the dolls for families, friends and children in special circumstances who would benefit from the comfort a handmade doll brings.
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