MT. VERNON —
Local residents at an assisted living facility in Mt. Vernon have found a way to touch the lives of young people in the community.
With the help of the Kiwanis Club of Mt. Vernon, a group of ladies at the Greentree Assisted Living facility have made close to 200 trauma dolls, which are cloth dolls given to children at vehicle accidents and in hospital settings.
“It’s a pacifier,” said Jefferson County Coroner Eddie Joe Marks. “It takes their minds off what’s going on.”
Marks and Kiwanis President Joyce Schrum discussed the idea at the Cedarhurst Craft Fair, and Schrum said she liked the idea of re-starting a trauma doll program in Mt. Vernon.
“They make 20,000 trauma dolls a year in Australia,” Schrum said of the Kiwanis Club. “We started doing it here in the United States after a convention, and we said that sounded like a good thing.”
Marks said when he worked as a firefighter, he and others gave out the trauma dolls during the 1980s or 1990s, but the practice faded out.
“I talked to Joyce Schrum at the Craft Fair and asked her,’Are you still doing that?” Marks said. “We came here and talked to (Juanita Volkert, retired activities director) and she said she was a part of it then and remembered it.”
Schrum said the group of ladies who cut out the fabric for the dolls and stuff them started at four, and then grew to about 12 women who enjoy the company and the service.
Greentree residents Gerdie O’Connell, Mary Jo Staples, Betty Owens, Agnes Maynor, Shirley Vest, Ula Dare and Margaret Nathlich are some of the women who take part in helping to make the trauma dolls.
“It’s a good way to socialize with the ladies in the group, and it’s one of the things we do,” Owens said. She added the group also makes blankets for a local hospice.
O’Connell called one blue trauma doll her baby and declared it was a boy.
The ladies at Greentree cut out the doll pattern, then it is sent to another person who sews it up except for a small hole, and then the dolls are sent back to the ladies for stuffing. The finished trauma dolls come with markers so children can draw on them.
“You cannot believe how valuable these are,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch to the group at Greentree. “They are an ice breaker, and stress relief. Thank you from our hearts.”
Mulch said the sheriff’s department goes through at least 200 dolls or stuffed animals a year.
“I’ve used them myself,” he said. “These dolls, when the kids get to color them themselves, it makes it their own. You’d be surprised what they draw on the dolls, sometimes it’s happy, sometimes it’s sad. They have helped us get kids out of a car where mom or dad are hurt. It’s just a great, great thing.”
Dare said the activity was important to her group at Greentree.
“It just makes us feel like we’re doing something,” she said.
Features
Related Photos
-
A group of four residents of Greentree Assisted Living facility opens plastic bags containing trauma dolls and markers for children in scary situations. With the help of the Mt. Vernon Kiwanis Club, the ladies at Greentree have completed more than 200 dolls to be given to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. RORYE O’CONNOR/REGISTER-NEWS
Trauma doll makers
Local women make cloth dolls given to children at vehicle accidents and in hospital settings
- Features
-
-
Are sunscreen chemicals something to worry about?
As the season of bare skin and scorching sun draws near, you — like so many other people — may find yourself scratching your head over sunscreen.
-
VIDEO: Snake learns how to open doors
We've seen cats open doors. We've seen dogs open doors. But have you ever seen a snake open a door? This python can.
-
Purchases by dementia sufferers put stores in quandary
An increasing number of lawsuits have been filed across Japan against department stores that allowed unusual purchases to be made by elderly people with dementia.
-
VIDEO: Husband accidentally sells wife's wedding ring at garage sale
A husband who accidentally sold his wife's wedding ring at a garage sale is hoping the person who bought will bring it back.
-
Mass. madam's arrest could prove embarrassing
Young women who worked for accused madam Lori Barron told police they performed sex acts on hundreds of area men, including a police officer, firefighters, a city councilor, teachers, lawyers and court workers, according to police reports filed Tuesday.
-
Consumers' desire for local, organic food drives online grocery business
Just a few years ago, consumers who were fervent about eating locally-grown and organic foods had to head out to the nearest Whole Foods or farmers market. Now all it takes is a few swipes of the mouse at an online grocer like Door to Door Organics, Relay Foods or AmazonFresh.
-
VIDEO: Thieves slam into pizza shop to steal safe
Three men are caught on camera slamming a pickup truck into the front of a pizza shop, then taking the safe behind the counter.
-
Predicting the summer movie sleeper hit
Every year since, filmgoers and critics try to predict what the next "Little Miss Sunshine" will be.
-
22 maps outline America's linguistic differences
Not everyone in the continental U.S. agrees on how to pronounce "caramel," or whether to use "soda, pop or coke." A series of maps created by Joshua Katz, a Ph.D student at NC State University illustrate these differences.
-
VIDEO: South Carolina valedictorian surprises graduation crowd by ripping up speech
A school district under pressure to keep prayer out of meetings and gatherings got an unexpected delivery from one high school valedictorian.
- More Features Headlines
-
