Dress Your Own Doll: sharing the gift of play this season of giving

BARELY two weeks before Christmas, they were as busy as Santa’s elves. The members of JCI Zugbuana, the staff of Anthill Fabric Gallery and the women behind Home Plush Toys were making last-minute preparations for the weekend’s big charity event: the “Dress Your Own Doll” (DYOD) at the new wing of the Ayala Center Cebu.

Anya Lim of Anthill Fabric couldn’t hide her excitement as she talked about this unique holiday craft fair. She said it’s like the popular flip-flops event, but only with dolls: kids “make” — or dress — their own dolls, for a cause. “The Home Plush dolls were made by hardworking mothers from our social enterprise partner, Handcrafters Of Mary Enterprise (Home) in Tisa, Labangon,” Anya said.

DYOD had been a three-year-old dream for Anthill and the community organization it supported. The partnership with JCI Zugbuana turned dream into reality. Apart from the mothers of Home, patients of the children’s ward of Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center will also benefit from the project.

“It all began when we visited Anya at Anthill and saw the lovely dolls,” JCI Zugbuana president Holly Dychangco said. Soon enough JCI Zugbuana, Anthill and Home Plush Toys became change partners and “#DYOD: Dress Your Own Doll,” with the support of numerous sponsors, became a one-of-a-kind charity event that urged Cebuanos to “share the gift of play.”

The event was held near the mall’s towering Christmas tree from Dec. 12 to 14, but Anya said those who wish to purchase dolls and become sponsors can check out the Home Plush Toys Facebook page.

#DYOD is proof that with enough support and cooperation, chasing dreams and sharing the gift of play aren’t so hard to do. (NSV/With Jem Felicilda & Joan Navaja, USJ-R Masscom Interns)