Amy Jandrisevits knows the value of a good doll. "Dolls have a power we don't completely understand," she says. It's a conclusion she came to while working as a pediatric oncology (儿科肿瘤) social worker using dolls to help her young patients adapt to their changing medical situations. Many of the kids saw themselves in those good dolls. But for the kids who had lost their legs or hair, there were none they could relate to.
So, eight years ago, when a friend said that her child was disabled, Jandrisevits knew what might help the youth through the challenging period. "It's hard to tell a kid, 'You are perfect the way you are,' and it is important to build the kids' self-confidence," she says.
Jandrisevits went about changing that. She made a doll by hand, which looked like her friend's child and sent it off. After the friend posted a photo of the happy child and doll on-line, another woman asked Jandrisevits to make a doll that looked like her baby, who had lost a leg.
Word spread, and soon Jandrisevits made dolls for children with different physical defects (缺陷)—in short, dolls that looked like them. She quit her job and started a nonprofit, A Doll Like Me. Working out of her home in Milwaukee, based on photos sent by kids' parents or caregivers, Jandrisevits takes about seven hours to make each doll. A GoFundMe page helps her make up for costs and allows her to donate her services. She hasn't charged for a doll since she began her nonprofit.
In all, she has made more than 400 dolls. The waiting list is long, but Jandrisevits is undefeated. As she explains on her GoFundMe page, "Every kid, regardless of age or body type, should look into the sweet face of a doll and see their own."
