Threads of Change
My name is Megan Kreider and I am the founder of Threads of Change. Our mission at Threads of Change is to provide free clothing, toys, shoes, personal hygiene items and other kid essentials to kids who are in the foster care system and in a time of crisis in their lives. A foster parent who has used our services , Melissa, sent me a message regarding your dolls and that their may be an opportunity to work with your company. I must say, I browsed your website and am truly impressed with your product. I am currently fostering a little 3 year old boy who struggles with sleep. I cannot wait to share your website with others who are fostering. Often these kids struggle with sleep, all for good reason. We currently have a program through our group called “Light the Night”. With this program we offer children newly placed in a new home to pick out a flashlight, sound machine, or nightlight. An item to help provide comfort during the night. These items can provide great comfort for a child who is scared and unsure in a new environment with caregivers they do not know. I know that the dolls you make will also provide similar comfort.
We are a 100% volunteer run program.
I want to pass along some numbers regarding our group. Last year, our organization served just over 175 kids. This year we are on track to reach closer to 250 kids. We serve children from newborn through age 21, the age at which children age out of foster care. Most of the children we serve fall within the age between newborn and age 8.
We have a closed Facebook group with 900+ people. This group is very active and includes foster parents, caseworkers, and general donors / supporters. They are high responsive and supportive.
In order to fully answer your question, I polled the group of foster parents asking if they had a foster child who struggled with sleep and if a doll that mimics breath and heart beat sounds would be beneficial. Within 6 hours, 27 foster parents answered yes to that question. A few foster parents left the following comments:
“This could be our answer! Sleep has been a nightmare for our little guy who has been with us for 21 months. We tried putting siblings in his room which made the nightmares go away but he would still get up and try to get in their crib/bed so it didn’t seem safe. A doll that mimics what he needs would be awesome!”
“My foster daughter is 7 and needs a bed mate to make her be able to sleep, weather it be the cat or dog, she just needs something or I catch her walking around the room at night. So a doll that makes a breathing noice would probably soothe her.”
In response the above comment, a foster parent stated:
“ Oh my gosh, my new 6yo is exactly the same! We just realized she sleeps so much better with the dog in her bed!”
Some of these comments were regarding older children and I love that they have found pets to bring comfort to them. Our program would likely focus on the needs of younger children , who cannot have a pet near them while sleeping.
Now, all that being said, 27 is a lot of Lulla dolls. We are very excited and thankful for any opportunity you may have.
Our Facebook Page:
We can easily take pictures when the dolls arrive and also when we hand them out to the children. We have decided that we are going to have families apply for the dolls and complete a short form of what the child’s sleep pattern is like and provide some demographic information. We will then ask the families to follow up with a review, a picture of the child using the doll and provide us with a follow up on how the childs sleep is with the doll. We can send all this demographic and review information to you so you can see how these dolls impact foster kids who have experienced trauma. Is there any other information that would be helpful for you guys to determine how the kids respond to the doll? We will include age and gender of child. Also length of time they have been in their foster home. Would it best to email you all of this info?
Thank you again!! I was excited to hear how well Melissa’s older foster son has attached to the doll. Again- thank you for this generous donation to support kids in foster care ! Very excited to see how these dolls support this population and help promote better sleep!
