The Izzy Doll

"Izzy Doll"

I travel to you in pockets!
I'm just a little soft thing;
Made with love and care.
My home will be a boy or girl
The place is - Everywhere!

I bring a smile and comfort,
When cuddled by a child.
My payment is the feeling
When the giver gets a smile.

That smile is there for all to see,
The feeling lives inside;
A memory of where I came from
Is shared to you with pride.

"To make a memory, you have to be there"

Carol Isfeld 12 Jul 1999

Yesterday, i showed you a picture of my cousin handing out "Izzy Dolls" in Haiti. The "Izzy Doll" was created by Mark Isfeld's mother, Carol. While Mark had been serving peacekeeping missions in other countries, he had seen that children often had no toys or belongings; a reality of war. His mother whipped up a little hand crocheted doll... a whole box worth, and sent them with Mark on his next mission. Mark eventually lost his life on June 21, 1994 (Croatia) to a landmine, but the tradition of making and handing out these dolls lives on.

I have asked my Canadian Facebook friends if they'd like to join in to help knit/crochet these little dolls. My cousin will be contacting me as to where we can send all our dollies. I hope to enlighten and make aware this beautiful tradition. It really can mean more than imagined, to a little one who has lost all hope.

If you knit or crochet and are a Canuck who would like to help- please let me know (a comment with an email address). The patterns for these dolls may be found here.

I thank you, in advance.


*ps* this is a great link, to see some more examples of how the dolls can look!