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Joy of Medina County Magazine | May 2021
COMMUNITY: GEMS
Sending Love Through Handmade Dolls
F
column and photos by Kent Von Der Vellen Someone living in Connecticut called Jan Householder wanting to learn more about the Giving Doll, Householder’s organization that provides dolls to comfort children. It was December 14, 2012. Later that same day, Jan was horrified when she heard about the events at Sandy Hook where a gunman had killed 20 schoolchildren and six adults. Householder called the woman with whom she had spoken to earlier in the day and asked if she knew anyone connected with the school and if the Giving Doll could help. The woman said she would reach out to the school through someone she knew.
the woman played in helping the Giving Doll comfort children in need. The Giving Doll provides handmade dolls to children to bring them faith, love, joy, and hope, said Householder. Through the dolls, the group has helped children who survived house fires, as well as those suffering from illness, the loss of a loved one, and separation from a deployed military parent. It all started in 2006 when Householder was asked to make a doll for Katherine, the 11-year-old daughter of one of Householder’s former student teachers. Katherine was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor and receiving experimental treatment from St. Jude’s Hospital.
Householder called her friends and volunteers with an urgency to make dolls for the siblings who had lost brothers and sisters in the shooting. They quickly assembled 67 dolls while waiting to hear back from the Connecticut woman. Then the call came back from Connecticut with a request for exactly 67 dolls. Householder does not remember the name of the woman who had reached out to her, but she well remembers the crucial part
Upon seeing Katherine’s doll, 12 more patients who also were receiving the experimental treatment had requested dolls, too. Householder, who is a retired home economics teacher from the Wadsworth City School District, made each of the 12 dolls. As interest for the handmade dolls grew, she recruited friends to help meet the requests. Householder approached the Wadsworth Office for Older Adults for help in making the dolls and the seniors became volunteers. By 2008, the Giving Doll had become a licensed nonprofit organization. The Giving Doll has grown from Householder’s bedroom to chapters in 10 different states. During 2020, they exceeded 60,000 dolls made and have given dolls to children in all 50 states and in 64 different countries. Patterns for the dolls were created and copyrighted by Householder. All of the dolls are handcrafted by volunteers and include a blanket and a tote bag. Katherine’s mother had requested that pockets be added so that she could tuck poetry she had written into them. For this reason, the clothing for every doll must have pockets. There are dolls for girls and boys, and they come in three different colors: brown, white or tan. There are specific instructions on how to make each doll, even detailing the number of stitches for each section.
