NORTON, Ohio — One retired teacher is dedicating the rest of her life to giving comfort to children across the globe with dolls.  

What You Need To Know

  • Jan Householder started The Giving Doll after making a doll for friend's sick daughter
  • The nonprofit has now delivered dolls to nearly 68,000 children worldwide

  • They rely completely on volunteers and donations to run

Jan Householder started making toy dolls in 2006, when a friend’s daughter, Katherine, became terminally ill at 11-years-old. 

“I said, ‘well, is there something that I could maybe make?’" Householder said. “She goes ‘That would be great.’ So, we came up with a doll, and the doll, she wanted pockets because she wrote poetry.” 

Householder said the child life specialist at Katherine’s hospital asked if she could make some more for the other patients. 

“We made them for Katherine, but we also networked and made them for a lot of other kids,” Householder said.

Members of the community started reaching out to Householder about other children going through difficult times who could use a doll, and she quickly realized the need was far-reaching.

So, she started a nonprofit called The Giving Doll to distribute as many as possible.

They go to sick children, those who’ve lost a loved one, who are otherwise unable to afford a toy on their own or are dealing with some other struggle. 

The Giving Doll is completely reliant on volunteers and donations to run.

There are now groups in 12 different states that make the dolls, and they’ve distributed nearly 68,000 across the globe.

“We celebrate that, but just think: 68,000 children needed comfort from a doll,” Householder said. “And you want to hug them. It’s just something you want to do. We give them to kids, and that’s the first thing they do, is hug the doll.”

And those hugs aren’t always just for kids. 

One of the women on the board of directors, Lynda Bowers, said she was visiting in a hospital recently and saw one of the dolls sitting around. 

She said she asked a nurse who it belonged to, and the nurse said it was for her team. 

“She said sometimes the pain that we have to work with with our patients is unimaginable, and you have to do it, but it feels like torture,” Bowers said. “And she said, ‘You know we just need something to hug.’”

Householder said that’s exactly aligned with the mission she strives for: to bring comfort and hope to those going through a difficult time. 

“It’ll be 17 years in May that I had my first group, and people say, ‘Well aren’t you getting tired? Isn’t it time to retire?’ These kids can’t quit,” Householder said. “How can you give up on kids who are going through what they’re going through?”

One thing’s certain, Householder doesn’t plan on giving up anytime soon. 

The Giving Doll will be hosting a Puppy Poker Run fundraiser in June.

You can find more details here.