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Dolls Are The Gifts Of The Angels

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By CHERYL BENTLEY, The Suncoast News

Published: November 12, 2007

WHO: The Angels, a handful of women and one man (Larry Olmstead, 72, who lugs in supplies) who gather weekly at CARES Hudson Bayonet Point Enrichment Center to make cloth dolls for children in need of cheer and comfort.

CLAIM TO FAME: Last year, they made 920 dolls, all different. Members of The Toymakers delivered the dolls with their hand-crafted wooden toys to youngsters in hospitals, at domestic violence shelters and other facilities.

SIDE BENEFIT: "We pick at each other. We tease each other. We become good friends," said Helen Wagner, who describes herself as one of the babies of the group at 67.

ORIGINS: The Angels got started when The Toymakers needed help painting their playthings. When that project was done, the group decided to make dolls to give away with the wooden toys. The doll makers used to gather at the Hudson Senior Center and moved to the CARES facility about five years ago.

Toymaker Tom Loughlin gave The Angels their name while awaiting their arrival one day. "Here come the angels," he said when they appeared.

"They bring smiles to children just like angels do," Loughlin explained. "When have you ever seen a child who is distressed or sick who hasn't had an angel looking over his shoulder?"

ANGELS ONE BY ONE: Effie Lazerow, 85, joined the group a month ago. She has macular degeneration, a chronic disease that causes blurred central vision or a blind spot in the middle of the visual field. Lazerow has difficulty with close-up tasks such as sewing, reading and writing. She's limited to stuffing the dolls, but that's fine with her.

"I love being here," Lazerow said. "It's a godsend for me."

Someone brought cupcakes for the recent "80-something" birthday of Stephanie Wayne. She has been sewing since she was 12 and was a professional drapery maker. She takes a pile of dolls home to stitch the fronts and backs together and to sew their dresses. (The women give all dolls lace headdresses, too.)

On this recent workday she brought more than 20 dolls she had sewn and clothed. Some weeks she does more.

"It's nothing for her to make 50 in a week," said Wagner, a retired data entry clerk at Bayonet Point Middle School.

Wagner's specialty is painting faces. "I usually look at the doll and what's she's wearing and visualize what her face would look like and what color her hair would be," she said.

She also paints a tiny red heart on each dress if it will show up. "It just lets those kids know that somebody cares about them," she said as her eyes filled with tears.

The Angels don't meet the young doll recipients but keep them in their thoughts. "We know where this is going," said Gloria Mirra, 80. "We have had children."

HOW TO HELP: Volunteers are needed to sew, stuff or draw faces on dolls. Call Louise Manolakos at (727) 868-5218. The Angels also need fabric, lace and especially polyester fiberfill. To arrange pickup of donated materials, call Loughlin at (727) 868-9342.

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