PROJECTS

The goal started out simple enough: Provide a pillowcase dress and a doll for each of the girls at the Piyali Learning Center, in Piyali, India, near Kolkutta. More than a year and hundreds of dresses and dolls later, everyone involved has learned the project is much bigger than clothing and dolls.

Some of the hidden benefits:

• The girls receiving the packages feel the love being sent from around the world. In fact, the girls were both overjoyed by the gifts and deeply touched by the fact that people from other countries cared about them. The girls now eagerly work harder in school to earn additional dresses through school achievements. The achievements and the sense of being cared about serve to increase their confidence.
• The people doing the giving grow and benefit in countless ways as well. For instance, in Hannah's community, bonds formed as people worked together to make these holiday gifts happen. Sewing dresses, washing dolls, and making doll clothes brought back happy childhood memories for many volunteers.
• Lifelong bonds formed between the girls at the Piyali school and the girls Hannah recruited to help make this project happen. This positive energy continues, bounding and rebounding across borders and oceans.

The mission has evolved from simply providing each girl at the Piyali Learning Center with a pillowcase dress and a doll into using these gifts as a springboard for breaking down barriers and helping these girls -- and girls worldwide like them -- to feel the confidence needed to succeed and to thrive.

You may help by sending pillowcases or dolls in good condition to:
Project Help a Sister
PO Box 999
Kernville, California 93238.

For more about how the "Help A Sister" project evolved and how it continues to help both the volunteers and the recipients, please read Hannah's Story.

To contact us, email dpmspooner@hotmail.com