Do you sew? Do you know someone who does? I have a little project I want you to help me with.
Donnie is leaving for a mission trip to Haiti on August 1st. He's taking several kids from our youth group, and while they are there, they will be helping with a local ministry, learning about the culture, playing with Haitian kids, and getting their feet wet in global missions.
There are more than 400,000 orphans in Haiti, and hundreds of thousands more children living in poverty there. I want to send as many baby dolls with Donnie as I can--something to hug when life gets scary or lonely. Every child needs that.
I made one!
And then I made a few more.
I made 7 dolls in just a few days, and I'm going to keep making them. But since the trip is only about 3 weeks away, I thought you might want to help me out. Here's how:
If you sew, commit to making ONE doll to send with our group to Haiti. Just one. You might want to make more after that, but even one doll would make a difference in a little one's life.
If you don't sew, consider donating some supplies (solid brown cotton fabric, black thread, stuffing...) or even just a few bucks to the cause. We figured that the dolls cost about $2 each to make, so just a little could make a big difference.
Whether you sew or not, make it your goal to tell three people about our Baby Doll Drive. Send them the link to this post, share it on facebook, however you can get the word out. I will probably make about 25 dolls before the group leaves, but imagine how many more we could send if we all pitched in just a little! (We can't send too many.)
(Aren't they gorgeous! Can't you picture them holding on to their own baby dolls! Haiti photos by Amanda Towns.)
I got the pattern from here. The Dolly Donations blog is full of ideas, patterns, tips, and tricks to make doll-making easier. Download your pattern here.
There is a list of supplies on the site above, but basically, you need brown cotton fabric, black felt, and patterned fabric for the "clothing".
We are looking for girl AND boy dolls, with brown to dark brown skin, with any color hair. Get creative and have fun with it! Ask a child to help you stuff your doll, and use it as an opportunity to teach him/her about children in other countries. When you are working on the hand-stitched parts, or picking out your fabric, take a moment to pray for the child who'll get your doll. Maybe this child has never been prayed for in her life. You don't know her name, but God does!
Send your babydolls to:
Baby Dolls for Haiti
c/o Faith Bible Church
1437 W. Pleasant Run Rd.
DeSoto, TX 75115
Please send your dolls early enough that they arrive before July 28th. They'll need a couple of days to figure out how much they are taking and get it all packed up.
If you have any questions about the drive, please leave a comment on this blog post, or email me. lassothemoonshop (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks so much for helping!
And here are a few pictures from the last trip our group took to Haiti.
That's my little brother Jon playing guitar.
Thank you, Amanda for letting me use your photos! I hope we get to send lots of baby dolls this year.