Doll project helps homeless children ‘Love and
Learn’
DOWNTOWN AKRON — Nearly 200 dolls handmade by 28 volunteers were showcased at a reception at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church May 3 for the Love and Learn Doll Project.
The dolls were made for young children who are living in shelters or other transitional housing. The dolls, some of which are shown below right, will assist in helping children with their school-readiness skills. They will be distributed during the remaining course of the school year and in the summer months, according to representatives of Project RISE (Realizing Individual Strength through Education), a federally funded Akron Public Schools program that adapted the program from a similar one in Cleveland. Along with the dolls, a special guide has been developed to assist with parent-child activities incorporating skills such as color and shape identification, counting, fine motor skills and recognizing traffic signals.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church recently provided $5,000 for the project from its Community Advancement Fund, which has allowed for the hiring of a coordinator and assistant coordinator. Shown at top, from left, is assistant coordinator Joy Clegg, of Barberton, and coordinator Polly DeLooze, of Stow, with a display of the dolls.
Work continued during the reception,
pictured above center, as volunteer Nancy Sidwell (at
left), of Tallmadge, gets
advice from Clegg on the creation of a new doll.
 Project
RISE is funded through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act-Education for Homeless Children and Youth Programs
through the Ohio Department of Education. Project RISE
provides
educational and enrichment services at 10 local shelters in the Akron area.
For more information on the doll project, call Debra Manteghi, program manager for Project RISE, at (330) 848-0785. — By Kathleen Folkerth
Photos: Ken Crisafi
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