In May 2006 two ladies sat down over a cup of coffee to talk about Bono (U2) and how his work with the One Campaign and Global Fund had inspired them both to want to ‘do’ something to help people in Africa.
But what to do? How to make a difference? We came up with a WILD idea!
I had been knitting Comfort Dolls for ICross Canada. They use the dolls instead of packing foam when they send shipments of HIV meds + delicate medical instruments to African clinics. Once the items are unpacked, each child gets their own doll. Many are AIDS orphans and/or HIV positive and it brings a small measure of comfort to them to have something truly their own.
Since there was a ton of TV programs filmed in Vancouver at the time, we decided to contact actors and have them pose for a photo holding a comfort doll, then auction the photos to their fan club members and send proceeds to World Vision and ICross Canada.
We contacted ICross for permission to use the dolls in this manner – a resounding yes! As we struggled to put the plan into action, we quickly changed the idea from actors, to bands/musicians, and musicians/bands have been enormously generous in wanting to give back.
In 2012 we noticed a downturn in photos so a friend suggested doing something with used guitar strings and since then we’ve been creating jewelry items!
How have we done so far? Have a read through some of our blog posts! (We are still working on our story ‘chapter by chapter’). We’ve also added some useful links at the top of page including patterns for those wanting to knit/crochet comfort dolls, and a way for bands to jump in and help if so inclined! Thanks for the support!
I have knitted some of the dolls for the Comfort Doll Project and need information on where to send them.
Hi there, you can find addresses for Icross in the ‘doll patterns’ tab up top! Also, we have an agency Drops of Grace who take dolls a few times a year as well.. we cant post that address as the dolls go directly to the home of the person going on the trip, but we can email that to anyone needing it, and we can message that to you on our FB page.