Dolls for dollars help feed the needy
With an initial target of 30 dolls for $30 dollars each, raising $900 in total, the community has rallied behind two passionate mums, helping them raise more than $10,000, with donations continuing to roll in.
What started as a kind gesture from one Melbourne mum to another, with Belinda Daniels offering 30 handmade dolls to Louise Fisher to donate to the needy in Australia, turned into a massive community project.
Avid communal volunteer Louise pitched the idea of selling the dolls to raise money for charity, but Belinda – who tragically lost her beloved son Sammy eight years earlier – refused to believe she would sell one single doll.
But Louise wasn’t deterred. “Watch this space,” she insisted. “I will sell those 30 dolls. The money raised will be used to honour your cherished son Sammy in some way.”
The initial target set was 30 dolls for $30 dollars each, raising $900 in total, an amount capable of feeding a lot of hungry mouths.
However, the community got behind these two passionate mums and they were able to raise more than $10,000, with donations continuing to roll in.
Due to the incredible response, Louise, who like Belinda is a South African expat, came up with the idea of setting up a Sammy’s Kitchen in Gauteng, South Africa, to feed those in need, in memory of Sammy.
The venue has become a landmark in the Orange Farm Community in South Africa. “It is a place everyone is talking about, a place where people come for kindness and comfort,” Louise told The AJN, adding that “I am hungry. I will meet you at Sammy’s Kitchen” has become a local phrase.
The kitchen currently provides around 1000 meals a week to support 200 people in the area.
“The response from around the world to help the needy and remember Sam has been overwhelming to say the least. Belinda has been working day and night to make so many wonderful dolls, loved by so many little children.”
“It has been an incredible project taken on by so many generous people around the world, the dolls travelling far and wide – as far as Sydney, London and South Africa,” Louise beamed, adding that “although I don’t need any credit I love what we have achieved.
“It has been so touching when so many individuals have bought dolls to honour their loved ones, just like Belinda is honouring her Sammy.”
To purchase a doll, call 0418 179 889. To make a donation to Sammy’s Kitchen, visit theangelnetwork.org.au/home
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