Audrey Steele (left) and Kara Avery with a doll "in progress".Those of you receiving the "Global Women's Artisan Alliance" newsletter will remember Madeline Austin of "Dollies without Borders". Madeline came to St. Petersburg, Florida in October of 2007 to facilitate a "doll making marathon" at St. Anthony's Hospital, helping staff and patients make two dozen dolls and stuffed animals to send to Africa.
We all just loved Madeline so much, that we had to have her come back for more doll making. So we held a "doll making marathon retreat"--twenty four hours of doll making AND self-care activities--at the beautiful Franciscan Retreat Center in Tampa, Florida. Thirty women showed up to work with Madeline and her wonderful friend Ann Antonelli, to make dolls to go to poor children in the village of Benito Juarez, Mexico.
It was a fabulous time, and the dolls everyone made were just exceptional--they will be cherished and loved by many little girls! Forty dolls have been sent to Mexico. An additional eighty dolls that had been made by other women at other gatherings--including the dolls in the photo above made by "dollies mamas" in Newfoundland, Canada--were "blessed and sent" by the women at the retreat to accompany Carol Mitchell to Cape Town, South Africa in September. There, Carol will be giving the dolls to the folks at ArtAidsArt, a not-for-profit that assists women artisans and their families who are HIV+. ArtAidsArt provides the artisans' children with Black dolls and ethnically sensitive children's books, among their many other good projects.
The retreat was funded by a grant from the Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Inc., so not only did no one have to pay for participating in the retreat, but all the doll making supplies were provided! The women sewed like maniacs, but also enjoyed morning tai chi and yoga, optional massages given by the incomparable Svetlana, fantastic food, including the best beef tacos north of the border, thanks to Chef Roxanne, and lots of "girl time" talking, laughing, crafting and relaxing. It was so much fun, we're talking about when we want to do it again!
Special thanks to Madeline Austin and Ann Antonelli, to Carol Mitchell and Maureen Connors of the Franciscan Retreat Center, who coordinated the finer details of the gathering, and to each and every woman who took precious time from her busy life to come and create a doll for a poor child. Stay tuned for a report about Carol Mitchell's "doll drop" in Cape Town in coming months. Take a minute to check out Madeline's web site at www.dollieswithoutborders.com.
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