When I was a kid, my name wasn’t exactly a common one. So any time we went into a gift shop, we never really expected that any of those cute personalized trinkets would feature anything that even sounded like my name.
However, on one Christmas, my grandma happened to find an adorable teddy bear that had “Mason” stitched on its overalls. And that fact became so special to me that the Mason bear became my bedtime buddy for as long as I slept with a stuffed animal. It was either him or nothing.
RELATED STORIES
But even after knowing what that felt like, I still can’t imagine how exciting it would be for kids affected by lifelong conditions to finally have a doll that looks like them. But thanks to one woman, it’s now possible.
Once upon a time, Amy Jandrisevits was a social worker in a pediatric oncology unit.
As she said in her GoFundMe campaign , this would involve some play therapy with dolls, but she would eventually notice that there were some big differences between these dolls and the kids in the cancer unit.
Namely, that the dolls had thick hair and seemed to be in perfect health.
Although she wanted the children to recognize how beautiful they are, she recognized that this was difficult when they don’t see themselves in anything that’s supposed to look like them.
And so, she started altering some Raggedy Ann to look a little more non-traditional. This idea became a big hit with parents who heard about it, so they started requesting dolls that factored in the differences that made their children special.
Four years later, Amy has committed herself fully to doll-making under the name “A Doll Like Me.”
In that time, she’s made about 300 dolls and the wait list for more never seems empty.
Each doll costs about $100 to make, but seeing each child’s excited face when they finally get a doll that looks like them is priceless.
And so, Amy works hard to find a way to cover the cost when parents can’t afford the $100.
This pledge does a lot to explain why there is now a Doll like Me GoFundMe campaign.
As you might expect, donations through this campaign are intended to pay for the material and shipping costs of the dolls, but they also turn A Doll Like Me into an official non-profit organization.
Since starting this campaign, Amy has partnered with a children’s hospital to identify kids who could benefit from a doll that both looks and feels like their own.
And people have definitely responded to her mission, as enough donations have rolled in to expand her initial $25,000 goal into a $225,000 goal.
At the time of this writing, she’s raised over $218,000.
Ultimately, Amy wants to ensure that families don’t need to pay for something so essential for their kids’ well-being.
As she said, “If we’re going to look at mental health as a necessary part of medical care, this is key. If you want validation and play therapy, you need these dolls.”
Amy factors in ethnicity, limb difference, body markings, and other health considerations when she makes the dolls, but she also creates them with the kids’ interests in mind.
According to Amy’s Facebook profile , the project ended up teaching her how to express different features in doll form.
She made dolls with different limbs at first, but then figured out how to represent hand differences, albinism, birthmarks and burn scars.
With each new difference she encounters, her motto is, “if it’s something I can do, I’m willing to try.”
Because no matter how much work goes into it, it’s worth seeing a child look at her creations and say “she’s just like me,” which is actually how this little girl reacted to her new doll.
When you look through the A Doll Like Me Facebook page, you’re bound to come across a treasure trove of heartwarming first meetings between these little ones and their dolls.
As Amy said in a post , there’s a story behind each one of these dolls, but she usually figures that the pictures can tell them all on their own.
But the stories that Amy does provide some context for have a lot going on behind the scenes.
For instance , this boy’s dad is a cop, so Amy asked two police officers to let her photograph his doll in their squad car.
Not only were they fine with it, but they also sent the boy some Green Bay Packer trading cards and a little, toy police dog.
It’s also not uncommon to see the parents leave lovely comments about the impact these dolls had in their children’s lives.
For example, the mother of these two girls said, “These dolls are our 3rd and 4th children. There have been times when I have pushed the dolls ‘Little Callie and Little Phoebe’ in my pram as that’s what the girls have wanted whilst they walk.”
This one does a lot to demonstrate Amy’s attention to detail.
With the way she matched the outfit, the body shape, and the fact that the doll’s little marks are placed in the same pattern as its owner’s, it’s clear that Amy takes the name “A Doll Like Me” seriously.
GoFundMe was also clearly impressed by Amy’s efforts because they named her their Hero of December last year.
As she said in a post announcing this, “It is an honor to be recognized for what is my labor of love AND it is awesome that other people believe in the power of representation.”
For these two to meet, the little doll we see here had to travel all the way to Venezuela!
“Representation matters regardless of age, gender, and location. A kind angel made this delivery possible,” wrote Amy.
This picture of a little girl comparing herself to the doll does a lot to express why Amy’s mission is so important.
Also note how closely she matched the child’s hair color with this doll. Pretty cool, huh?
It’s hard not to get emotional while looknig through these photos as it is, but there’s something especially powerful about the way this girl is embracing her doll.
“Isn’t this just the cutest? Big Anna and Little Anna from Frozen.”
And the doll obviously has this little guy’s seal of approval.
The caption says that they’re “just hanging out,” which shows how comfortable the child already is with this creation.
Amy took a moment to further express how important these dolls are to the children who receive them.
As she said , “On the one side, dolls are validating for the little people they reflect. And on the other side, dolls are a tangible way to share kindness and demonstrate acceptance. These children are perfect just the way they are!”
Amy Jandrisevits is doing amazing work and is most definitely a hero for these children.
Check out her Facebook page here !
h/t: GoFundMe
