Burlington High School students and staff are sending a bit of Vermont comfort to an orphanage in Haiti. 

Students Quincy Cundiff-Kopplin and Jessica Fountain helped librarian Jan Hughes make 100 hand-knit dolls.

“I think getting a handmade doll is much nicer than a store-bought one,” Cundiff-Kopplin said. “It’s more special.”

In January, an earthquake hit Haiti approximately 10 miles outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince, killing hundreds of thousands and leaving many more homeless. Hughes, with the help of Cundiff-Kopplin and Fountain, made the dolls as a way to put a smile on the younger victims’ faces.

 “I had several dozen (dolls) on hand when the earthquake happened,” Hughes said.  "The idea of sending them to Haiti came about as Vermonters were traveling to Haiti to help with medical and other needs.”

So, with all of the extra bits and pieces of yarn in her possession Hughes set to knitting, switching colors and patterns every once in a while to make each doll unique. Fountain and Cundiff-Kopplin joined in and made some dolls from scratch, completing the 10 hours of community service required to graduate from BHS.  

Fountain said that the project worked well for her because she is often very busy and she loves crafts. It was also important that the work didn’t require anything special, and could be done at home.

The 100 dolls, which were given to a French nun late last month, will be hand delivered to the Mary Help of Christians Boarding School, an orphanage for girls in Port-au-Prince. Along with each doll, a note written by BHS French students will be delivered to each girl to personalize the project even more.

 

To publish something of your own, click here. Got a story idea? E-mail stephanie@fireflymag.com.