Comfort Doll Project founder, Donna Mair, was inspired by U2 and Bono during their 2015 Vertigo Tour which saw the band highlighting the ONE Campaign and the plight of those living in poverty in developing countries, most especially Africa.
The U2 tour started in Vancouver in March, and in fall of 2015 Donna was diagnosed with stage 3 & 4 breast cancer. Undergoing surgery and 6 months of chemo, Donna needed to find a way to not become trapped in self-pity… she knew that if she lived in a developing country she likely wouldn’t be able to get, or pay, for treatment – and likely would not have survived. Wanting to give back became paramount… but how? The idea:
Take photos of bands and musicians holding a small knitted ‘comfort doll’, have them autograph an index card, and auction both off for charity.
With Vancouver being a hub for music/musicians, the idea quickly grew from local musicians, to nearly every well known Canadian artist and band to date, including Canada’s most iconic The Tragically Hip
Photos above: The Trews (left) and country singer Aaron Pritchett (right)
By 2011 photos were becoming difficult to sell to fans, so in 2012, Comfort Doll Project changed its initial fundraising format. A friend suggested ‘doing something‘ with used guitar strings. Most bands toss them out nightly/weekly while on tour so why not ask for them and use them.
Bands/artists now donate their used guitar and bass strings, which Comfort Doll Project makes into wearable jewelry (bracelets, earrings etc), and fans purchase those directly from us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
The results have been encouraging and staggering! The Trews donated our first 23 strings and we raised over $1400, Papa Roach guitarist Jerry Horton donated 30 sets of strings in 2018, and we generated $6200.00! We’ll keep doing what we’re doing as long as the fans support it!
Photos above: a BOX of strings from Papa Roach Jerry Horton, Papa Roach skull bracelet, Sam Roberts Band James Hall bass string guys bangle bracelet
Where does the money go?
Comfort Doll Project donates mainly to World Vision through their Gift Catalog as we wish to support Africa and Developing nations; but at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas we send to Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver for holiday meals. We also periodically send to local food banks, and to disaster relief through Salvation Army (Hurricane Katrina for example), or other imminent in-need charities.
We have toyed with the idea of becoming a registered non-profit entity, but that requires a board of directors, president, treasurer, secretary, monthly meetings, a budget, grant writing etc etc.. and it is cost prohibitive for us to consider it – we’d rather put the money we generate, into the people that need it most. Our only expenses are beads for bracelets, and postage to send the items to whoever purchased. 100% of proceeds goes to charity.
Thanks for checking us out. Please make sure you check out our other pages too:
*Auction Results – which bands participated, where the money went, and what it accomplished
*Doll Patterns – knit, crochet patterns for dolls, addresses where to send them
*Contributing Artists – photos of all our past participants
*How You Can Help – ideas on how to help -not just knitting! and not just through our project!
*Our Wish List – bands we still want to work with!
