WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Small town, big heart

West Rupert, Vermont - March 26, 2010

You may be tempted to think what happens in a small, out-of-the-way place like West Rupert has little impact on the rest of the world, but you'd change your mind if you met Elizabeth Winters.

"It's sad to think there are children who haven't had the simple pleasure of a toy," Winters said.

Her home clothing alterations workshop doubles as the headquarters for an international nonprofit called Rag Dolls 2 Love.

"We distribute dolls all over the world," Winters explained.

The group is a network of hobbyist sewers and church groups that make these simple dolls from a half yard of recycled fabric.

"It takes about 45 minutes," Winters said.

Rag Dolls 2 Love then sends the toys to children suffering from poverty, disease, or natural disasters. Several hundred recently went to Haiti.

"I love children," Winters said. "And I feel it's very important to try to alleviate whatever suffering a person can in this world."

Winters is a former Winooski schoolteacher who took over running the nonprofit last year from the wife of an Anglican bishop, who saw firsthand how a simple doll could brighten a needy child's day.

"It's a small drop in the bucket of human suffering, but it's a drop nonetheless," Winters said.

The new director now includes American hospitals and counseling and community centers in her list of doll recipients.

"Almost daily, I receive dolls in the mail," Winters said.

But only some of the dolls are Made in Vermont. This shipment came in from Pennsylvania for redistribution.

"Oh, a corduroy one! Ooh!" Winters said.

The internet connects Elizabeth Winters to volunteer stitchers around the country who download the doll pattern. With a shoestring annual budget of less than $3,000, this woman who cares so much for children she'll never meet operates under this simple motto: "You do what you can."

What Elizabeth Winters can do is sew and she'll keep sewing and keep mailing as long as children keep suffering and need a soft hug from these small handmade gifts.

Click here to visit Winter's website if you want to download a doll pattern to help out.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News - Made in Vermont