On A Positive Note: Mothers Using Cabbage Patch Kids Dolls To Give Hope To Grieving Children
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Remember Cabbage Patch Kids dolls? The toys are still on the market today, but they were so wildly popular in the '80s that parents brawled in store aisles to get their hands on one.
On a Positive Note, KDKA's Kym Gable learned about a bond that stretches from Pittsburgh to Portland, Maine. And it all started with Cabbage Patch Kids and a mission to give hope and comfort to sick and grieving children.
Michelle Chenevert, from Washington County, came across her childhood Cabbage Patch dolls in her parents' basement recently. But now those dolls are being boxed up to ship off to Kristie Anderson in Maine.
The two women connected when Anderson was searching for '80s-era Cabbage Patch dolls on eBay to meticulously rehab for her new charity campaign, which she calls The Cabbie Cause. Anderson's daughter was born with heart defects. She also has epilepsy, autism and has spent a lot of time in the hospital.
"I've been looking for a way to give back to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital, as well as Ronald McDonald House because of the various times I've been in and out of their Portland location. I wanted to try to find a way to give back," said Anderson.
She spotted Chenevert's astronaut doll on eBay and messaged her to buy it. That's when Chenevert learned about the donations and The Cabbie Cause.
"And I said, 'If you want them, you can have them all.' That's such a great cause and I just love the idea that someone was going to be playing with them and loving them the way I did when I was a child," said Chenevert.
Chenevert runs her own non-profit, Bond Of Love, which helps mothers and babies at the Duquesne Family Support Center. She says they "clicked," and now Anderson will have 10 more dolls to bolster the cause.
"I could give these children a measure of comfort, to hold in their arms, if they're at risk of dying or going into surgery, and even if they're sick. So that's where (the idea) was born," Anderson said.
We want to hear your positive stories. Click here to share.