Thank You, Fredericksburg for Making Our First Doll Drive Event for the 2020 Holiday Season an Incredible Success!
Joy Doll Hospital Executive Director, Leah Barcus, and the Board of Directors want to give the entire Fredericksburg region a resounding THANK YOU and a great, big, joyful hug. Our Holiday Doll Drive kickoff event hosted by The Rocking Horse Gallery at 803 Caroline St. in downtown Fredericksburg was an incredible success. In an astounding outpouring of love and the spirit of giving, we received donations of 25 American Girl dolls, 70 doll outfits, 35 pairs of doll shoes along with cash donations and raffle ticket purchases that will support preparation of dolls for gifting. All of that puts us halfway to our Holiday Doll Drive goal of 50 dolls by Christmas!
Congratulations to our lucky raffle winner who will receive an American Girl Gift basket stuffed with American Girl books, toys, crafts and a sled.
The American Girl dolls collected will be restored by the Doll Doctor and prepared for gifting to a child through one of several charities in direct contact with children in crisis situations. Joy Doll Hospital is always looking for opportunities to partner with organizations working with children such as Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center or The Shepherd’s Place Children’s Home & Academy. If you are part of such a group, please let us know at info@joydollhospital.org
We want to express our humble gratitude to some truly special people that made this amazing event possible.
- Faylee Hydorn, proprietor of The Rocking Horse Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg. Thank you so much for your generous hospitality.
- Bill Carroll and B101.5 for recording and broadcasting the PSA about Joy Doll Hospital and our Holiday Doll Drive kickoff.
- Cathy Dyson of the Free Lance-Star that told everyone about our mission on the front page of the newspaper.
- Benjamin Monroe of Unforgettable Moments Photography for the yeoman’s work satisfying our signage needs with graphic design skills.
- Nancy Frank for rapid response cutting and sewing of Joy Doll Hospital event masks to help keep us safe.
- Jon Neasham of Silver Star Embroidery Emporium for the last minute digitizing and embroidery of the logo on our masks to let everyone know who we were at the kick-off event.
About Joy Doll Hospital, Inc.
Founded in Fredericksburg in 2019, Joy Doll Hospital is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity whose mission is to help children in crisis be given a message of hope. Joy Doll Hospital collects used and damaged American Girl Dolls and restores them to look brand new. The dolls are boxed, including extra outfits and accessories, then presented to children in need.
Messages are included with the dolls to remind the children that as difficult as the past or present may be, there is HOPE; that as dark as their experiences have been and as heavy as the fear and worry they carried may have been, there is someone who cares and wants to bring them JOY!