Project Idea- Anyone Want To Be Part?

I just wanted to say that this is a wonderful idea. I don't have any skills to be of help right now, but will keep monitoring this and jump in if I see a way that I can contribute.

One thought: I do think that organizing a small board of directors and working on perhaps a 501C3 status (if that's what the board deems appropriate) would be a good way to start and legitimize the operation. Having that official tax exempt status would facilitate getting donations from people or organizations who want to take a tax deduction for their contributions.

I think I could do that! Would you prefer a form that people can fill out right on the website, or a Word/PDF form that they can download and email to you? Or even both? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Nevtal- Fantastic! http://www.hostboard.com/forums/ Hehehe...let's cover every corner and do both. We can have the dowload/email option at the top of the page with the form. http://www.hostboard.com/forums/ I'll let you know when I'm to that point...so glad to have your help. http://www.hostboard.com/forums/

EleanorofAquitane- I've been reading all the mubo-jumbo techinical stuff on the IRS website, and I'm going to apply for tax exemption as soon as I get the site running.

Now for our "board of directors" (wow, we're starting to sound official already http://www.hostboard.com/forums/ )- if anyone is interested, PM me with the area you'd like to help with.

I would also want more verification that the whole organization and recipients are legit. Not to accuse anyone at all, but you never know who you're dealing with on the Internet. But if everything checks out, I would be interested in trying my hand at sewing for the project! (And if the setup is professional and stuff, I can probably even claim it as my semi-mandatory "volunteer" work I need to do for my company every year. Not to say I wouldn't help anyway, but it would be nice to kill two birds with one stone. And if it WERE a verifiable organization, I could even request it be put it on the company website and try to get other people at my nationwide company (well over 100,000 people) to volunteer time!)

I don't see why all the dolls can't come with a mix of handcrafted items and official ones, myself. Depending on how much the handmade items sell for on eBay, the girls may get "more bang for their buck" from handmade clothes, and depending on the girl's interests, there might be handmade clothes that are more appropriate. AG doesn't make a decent kimono, for instance, and their costumes (Halloween, Ren Faire, etc.) are very limited. Matching school uniforms would have to be handmade, etc. (For props I would be a little more worried about including handmade items, just because of the potential of choking on them if they broke or whatever, at least for little girls. But clothes should be pretty safe IMO.) If "pre-loved" items are in like-new condition, I think they'd be great gifts too, especially if they come in the box, or else if someone else could volunteer boxes for them. I KNOW a lot of people here get rid of their boxes when they get items.

I think it would be great to include at least the Meet book for the historicals whenever possible, since the dolls ARE about reading, not just getting a pretty doll to play with. Lots of people have found them used; I KNOW there were a ton of them for $1 each at a used book store in CA (but I didn't need/want them for myself so I only bought Samantha's set...) [img]redface.gif[/img]

And I read about a group who restores dolls and sews for them to give to children in need (though it doesn't look like they have an online presence, and it wouldn't be just AG dolls). There's a VERY brief article at http://www.azcentral.com/families/ar...ck0329Z14.html and scroll down to "Dolly dressers." Someone might call them and see if they have any advice about the logistics of their team? (I'm shy on the phone so I'd rather not do it myself. [img]redface.gif[/img] )

I discussed this with my Mom and we started to come up with a verification plan.

We must recieve references, let's just say three for now, with contact information.

If it is for a seriosly ill child, one of those must be the child's primary doctor.

If it is for an underprivelidged child one must be the child's schoolteacher.

Only one contact may be a relative.

Of course, this is all preliminary, so we can adjust it and come up with more requirements.

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ August 20, 2006 09:19 PM: Message edited by: randomAGchic ]</font>

I have one concern about pre-owned stuff-- some seriously ill children must be very careful what they are exposed to (pet dander, certain detergents or air freshners). With new items it is easier to control for those issues.

Perhaps there could be a way for certain people to be able to refer a child without the three references requirements-- I'm thinking if a referal comes from a medical institution or social worker. Doctors, hospitals and social workers are licensed so they can be tracked and verified.

I'm a bit concerned about the three reference rule because I know how little time pediatric specialists have. Rebekah's parents often wait a week to hear back from a doctor about serious medical issues. A number of times they have ended up in the ER because they can't talk to a doctor fast enough. These are extremely carrying, dedicated doctors who are simply over loaded with seriously ill young patients. I'm not sure they'd have the time to write a reference for a doll.

I do agree there needs to be validity and accountability. Perhaps we could accept newspaper articles about the situation, a note from a social worker or physical therapist or nurse?

I know I couldn't get three references for Rebekah. Her parents would NEVER ask for dolls for their kids. They would say there are people worse off than they (that's the kind of people they are-- he volunteers as a fire dept. EMT in his "spare" time). I could get copies of newspaper articles and I know a close family friend who would probably do it. But the parents wouldn't and they're the only ones who could ask a doctor.

Just my two cents.

I would love to help! [img]smile.gif[/img] Maybe for some sort of verification, you could have a link with pictures of the kids with their dolls-parents permitting. [img]smile.gif[/img]

-Jordyn

That's a really good point. [img]graemlins/thinking.gif[/img]

We're going to have to have some faith in the decency of people.

I like Annika's idea- she brings up a valid point. Does that sound OK to everyone? Any other opinions on the matter?

I agree that asking for parental verification might prove embarrassing to the parents, who have enough on their plates already. However we might want to be sure that it's okay with the parents. I've given away a lot of dolls over the years and I always ask permission from the parents first. Perhaps a doctor or other medical person (like a nurse practictioner? or the head nurse for the floor if the child is in the hospital?) and one other person who the board agrees would be a trustworthy witness might be enough.

Re: pre-loved items, maybe we should use them as auction items and use the proceeds to buy new things. I was thinking about that this afternoon. A little girl would not have the same response to a PM Sam as a collector would. So, for example, maybe I could make a few outfits for Samtha and perhaps someone could donate her meet outfit and then we could sell her back through ebay. Just a thought.

For hospitalized children, we also need to be sure that they will be allowed to have a vinyl doll. I was in contact with a medical social worker a few years ago (who sold doll clothes on ebay). She worked with severely abused children who were kept in a hospital for their own protection. I offered to send her dolls for two little girls who could never go home. She said that one of them was not allowed to have anything sharp, including a vinyl doll with hard fingers. I ended up sending all my duplicate photos instead and the little girls split them up and had fun making up stories about "their dolls".

I hadn't considered allergies; that's a good point. Although I don't think all kids have allergies/sensitivities (and ones with extreme allergies, might not be able to take handmade clothes either).

PM clothes would probably be best auctioned; definitely retired clothes. But someone might have, let's say, a duplicate Mattel item only used for display that they'd like to donate. It probably wouldn't fetch enough on eBay to buy a new one (well, $10 off code aside [img]redface.gif[/img] ), so why couldn't it go to a girl without allergies? Just my thoughts.