A Great Summer Project — And a Way for Kids to Help Others

Looking for a great summer project for the kids — while also teaching them the importance of helping others?

Johnston resident Johanna Corcoran is organizing Doll Stroll 2012, a chance to get kids involved in raising funds for Rhode Island nonprofits [like the in Johnston] that wraps up on Oct. 13 with the "stroll" at the soon-to-open Wide World of Indoor Sports in North Kingstown.

During a recent interview, Corcoran explained the inspiration for this year's event.

"The seed for the Doll Stroll was really planted about a year and a half ago when my family and I participated in a walk-a-thon for a friend of ours" who had been diagnosed with cancer, Corcoran recalled. "Her friends and family put together a walk-a-thon to help her and her family, and when we were going, Ellie asked if she could bring her doll with her, and I said: 'Sure.'"

As they walked at the event, Corcoran said: "I looked over and I just all of a sudden got this image of Ellie and 200 other kids strolling with their dolls and doing this walk-a-thon, and that's really where it sprouted."

Having experience organizing events like last year's , which benefited the Friend's Way family bereavement and counseling agency, Corcoran said she then considered how to make that idea a reality.

Among the first steps was choosing an organization to be the main beneficiary, Corcoran said.

"The official charity is the Pajama Program — they have chapters in every state, and they provide pajamas and books for kids who are orphaned or in foster care," Corcoran explained. [The Pajama Program's Rhode Island Chapter is located in Coventry.] "If a child doesn't know who they want to fundraise for, they can help the Pajama Program."

What's unique about the Doll Stroll is that kids can also choose their own charity to support, Corcoran said.

"We really want kids to connect with the process, and I think one of the best ways to do that is to alow them to choose a charity that speaks to them," she said, "so, for example, if they got the family dog from the local animal shelter and they want to give back to that shelter by raising money, we want them to have the opportunity to do that."

Corcoran also said that the program is open for boys and girls.

"I think it'll be interesting to see what the percentage tallies out at, I expect to see more girls than boys, but I do know some who are going to bring their stuffed animals in a backpack as opposed to a doll in a stroller," she explained. "I'm trying to keep it as gender neutral as possible."

And instead of the stroll being the "main event," Corcoran said she envisions the Oct. 22 gathering as "more symbolic, because they would have put so much effort into fundraising over the summer, that the walk is the bow on the cake."

It's also a chance to teach young children — the target group is ages 4 through 10 — about doing charitable deeds for local organizations.

"We're hoping that this builds a whole new group of supporters for these groups," Corcoran explained, "so the next time they think about doing something for a community group, they remember how great they felt at the end of the stroll. It gives the experience an emotional resonance so tat they connect with it in the future."

Registration fees are $15 per child, or $10 each for groups of 10 or more — and Corcoran noted that there's no minimum amount to raise for the groups.

"I want to make sure that nobody feels like they have to raise a certain amount because, as a parent, that can be a real deterrent, and I want this to be easy," she explained. "At the end of the day, if they raise $25, that's awesome, because they did it — and they've never done it before."

For more information or to sign up for the Doll Stroll, go to www.dollstroll.com, email Corcoran at johanna@myfamilytopia.com, or call (401) 300-9656.