US woman makes very special dolls to match kids with disabilities
Day-in and day-out Amy Jandrisevits sits at her sewing machine to make dolls.
But these dolls are not what we're used to seeing.
"These are not the kids that you see in movies, these are not the kids you see in commercials," Ms Jandrisevits says.
But that's exactly the point.
The Wisconsin doll maker is brightening the lives of hundreds of kids with disabilities, after starting the non-profit business 'A Doll Like Me' from her own home.
It started as a hobby four years ago, when Jandrisevits made a doll for a child with an amputated leg.
Since then, she has made around 400 dolls — all meant to look like each one of its individual recipients, no matter the skin colour, gender or medical condition.
And she does this all from her dining room, with sewing supplies filling up her dinner table.
"You can see my dining room has not been used for its intended purpose in a really long time," the doll maker laughs.
Jandrisevits has shipped dolls all over the world.
And although she's never seen a child get one of her dolls in person, she's seen plenty of the magical moments on video.
The videos are endless… and priceless.
"Why is your baby important to you?" one mother is heard asking from behind the camera.
The answer comes without pause: "Because he has hands and toes like me!"
And they bring smiles Jandrisevits never wants to see fade.
"When you have a talent or you have something to offer, you've got to use it for someone else. And I think that this is for me, this is the skill I bring to the table. I bring sewing," she says humbly.
Jandrisevits doesn't want families to have to pay for their own doll so she has set up a GoFundMe page.
So far, supporters have donated more than $185,000 (US$125K)
