Summer Group Project???

[BohemianMare]

I just skimmed through this so someone else might have said it already, but donating directly to Toys for Tots might not be a possiblity for homemade or used items. They want new, unwrapped toys only. But I'm sure there are many other great organizations that collects Christmas presents for kids. And if not, there's a ton more charities who would be happy to have our help!

[MaryCarly]

I would love to help, but I have no talent for doll restoration or sewing. Count me in to help buy the dolls and I am certain that I have lots of extra clothes here that I could donate.

I have actually thought of doing this myself, but I had no idea who to give the dolls to. We donate our own clothes, books, and houeshold items to the Goodwill, but I would never give them any dolls or doll clothes. They are careful with 25 cent glasses, vases, etc., but they throw the toys all togther in dirty laundry baskets. I couldn't bear to leave a doll in their hands.

[MaryCarly]

Just a thought:
You might want to make the title of this thread clearer. I almost didn't look at it, because of the word project. I am not good at crafts and that is what I thought this would be about. I was thinking that you might get more responses if you included the word charity or called it something like "The make a child smile project." Just my 2 cents. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[robin0850]

If this project get organised to to everyone's satisfaction, I'm willing to donate the supplies and expertise (this means the time and work--not meant to be high-falutin' or stuck-up here) [img]smile.gif[/img] to re-condition doll hair, re-string limbs, and clean up and/or remove ink marks, etc. from fixer-upper dolls. I may not have the moolah to acquire said fixer-uppers, but I should be good for the postage to send a limited number of fixed-up dolls to wherever they will be going.

I can also sew up a couple of dresses or so from the approximately eighteen million remnants I have around the house!

Meanwhile, good luck with organising the project and identifying recipients. (Hopefully, children old enough not to undo our fixing-up?) [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]redface.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/rainbow.gif[/img]

[Kenshinchan]

BohemianMare is right about Toys for Tots, but I'm sure there's other places that will take that kind of doll. (There actually is a group locally that takes used dolls, restores them, sews clothes for them, and gives them to girls! But they're probably 45 minutes away from where I am, and from the article I read, I believe they're all older ladies, and probably better seamstresses than I am, so I'd hesitate to meet them. [img]redface.gif[/img] )

I hate to commit to anything too early, but you can put me down as a resounding and enthusiastic "maybe!" If a trustworthy group and worthy girls are found, I can try my hand at sewing an AG (probably not Bitty) outfit or two (I'm not perfect, but IMO I can make an outfit some girls would love [img]biggrin.gif[/img] ). I can maybe help with the money part too. I really don't have any AG items to spare (well, maybe a pair of Kirsten's ribbons, but I don't know if girls would care if THOSE were authentic [img]tongue.gif[/img] ). But if I get any duplicates on eBay or stumble across anything nifty in a thrift/antique store, I'll try to set those aside.

[jerseycow6]

Okay, I've actually sent out notes to moderators.

I like the idea of the Make a Child Smile project, Erin, and maybe it would be cool if someone put a sticky about that on the page.

And I know that we couldn't donate these to Toys for Tots. Even if the new item requirement wasn't a factor. From what I've seen, the one way they distributed toys was by placing them all on a big table and letting children choose, and having several American Girl dolls interspersed with other toys might be a little unfair to those who don't get them.

I was kind of thinking about kids who would never have all the publicity from some kind of organized program, too. I mean, just a regular, everyday kid who might not be as economically fortunate as the rest of us. Sometimes there are kids who aren't sick or destitute, but just not blessed with much money. (now, quoting something I've already said to someone because it takes me forever to type [img]smile.gif[/img] Like, even if a board member was a teacher and knew of a kid in their school whose parent/s might not have as much money, I think it would be kind of fun to do a sort of secret Santa thing... where we could send the (unwrapped) present to the kid's parents a little before Christmas with a letter explaining that we're a bunch of doll fans who wanted to play Secret Santa or something... and the kid could wake up Christmas morning to a doll and a little totebag full of dresses and books all from Santa...I know that's a pretty corny example, but to me it sounds like fun.

It still probably sounds a little silly, too, but I think it gives a better idea of the spirit of the project. We could make a kid or a few kids happy and not have to spend a fortune like we would if an individual tried to get a bunch of AG dolls and buy clothes for them and stuff, and we could make a fun summer project out of it, too.

I mean, we wouldn't invade the privacy of the kid by talking about them on here- a member could PM the kid suggestion (probably to me, but definately to someone with more seniority here) and we'd only need to post that there was a kid of "yay" age, "yay" interests, might like a doll that looked like "yay" or a certain AG character doll... that'd be all we'd need to plan the doll and clothes and stuff, and then whoever agrees to house the doll would be given the address to ship it to.
That's kind of what I meant by how we used to do it in my church youth group. Only those who needed to know knew the family's actual information. The rest of us only needed to know basic info, especially since they were families in our community and the church wanted to make sure their privacy was kept. That probably goes double or triple on the internet, especially where a kid is involved. This would also be the reason for addressing the box and explanation to their parents. I'd be pretty creeped out if some unidentified people sent a big random present to one of my (as yet nonexistant) kids. (also, i'm kind of wondering if a parent might be insulted by our doing this? I'd think it was sweet, but that's just me)

And, yes, I'd bet that even a "simple" dress would be appreciated by a kid. My niece is a funny example of that- I let her go through all my AG doll clothes, and she pulls out one of the handmade ones I made from my grandmother's old scraps from the factory and says how much she likes it. I mean, it was made from a pattern, and the material was nice, but none of the edges were hemmed and the sleeves and neck weren't finished off, so it's kind of funny. So, I'd bet that even some less fancy things (hemmed, though!) would be great. All dolls aren't rich like Samantha, anyway.

So, the next step to this project before buying dolls (unless I find good deals... still kicking myself about that BIN last week...) would be to ask some of the more established members on the board to keep an eye out for recipients. Especially elementary school teachers, who would know a lot more things about kids' money situations, responsibility levels, and interests. Okay, that sounds kind of creepy in a way, too... but my mom used to teach, and those were things that it was kind of difficult not to notice. Maybe it's because her school was smallish, but it seemed like the teachers kind of knew about the characters of just about all of the kids in their school, whether they'd been through their class or not. (also, some parents are against their kids having these dolls because they are expensive and therefore don't let them read the books, so I should mention that it be a kid who seems to like AG books... just follow the general idea that we'd want the doll to actually be appreciated) It would still take some trust on our part, but if recipient suggestions came from established members here and were reviewed by an established member, that would probably be the best. (for the sake of carefulness: for example, that way I couldn't pretend I'd found a kid and have everybody do a bunch of work and then send the doll to me!)

But once we knew of one, two, three, or four kids, (at the very most!) we could start looking out for what doll might be the one to get for each of them...

(to answer the inevitable doll question: I fully expect to be the one paying for a couple of dolls off of ebay once this is planned out and I have a summer job... or several of us could chip in for a new AG if someone decides that that's better, I guess... though fixing up dolls sounds like part of the fun)

And, if Asian AG doesn't mind, I'd probably even have any dolls shipped directly to you for their "makeover."

Please post or PM me if you have any thoughts or suggestions, think this particular part of the idea is going to far on a silly idea tangent, would be willing to be a gathering point for dolls and things, want to tell me I talk too much, or anything else, or especially if you think of a kid to send a doll to.


Ooh, Erin- I just checked out that other thread from Samanthasmom, too. Gonna bump that. We should have a sticky here for people to post links to places we can donate!

[[email protected]]

I don't have time right now, but I think that it's a great idea.

Maybe if other moderators also don't have time right now (and I don't know that for sure yet), another member who's been here a long time could lead this?

Joy

PS If you ever need to reach me, please email me. [img]smile.gif[/img] Thanks!

Also, I know of a girl who needs an Addy doll, and she's from a family which can't afford AG. I've been watching for an Addy to fix up, so if anyone sees one, please let me know. [img]smile.gif[/img] Thanks.

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ May 04, 2006 12:19 PM: Message edited by: djsnjones ]</font>