Service Spotlight: Cuties for a Cure

Meet Holly Reidy, one of our Grade 7 students. Holly has made dolls called “Cuties for a Cure” to give away to children who are undergoing treatment for cancer.

Holly is such a great example of a person who has recognised an opportunity to help others in the community and has worked really hard to help. We are proud of your efforts! Holly’s next project is to join our sewing club to make pouches for orphaned joeys in Australia.

How did you come up with the idea?

I have been sewing for quite a while. A few years back I was browsing a website and saw the pattern for ‘Cuties for a Cure’ and thought one day I would like to make them. Recently I read a book by Brad Haddin who is an Australian cricketer, which inspired me to help kids with cancer. His daughter Mia had a type of cancer called Neuroblastoma, and when she was in the hospital a teenager came around with presents for the patients. Brad wrote about how his daughter was very grateful and it really made a difference to her quality of life. I thought that making dolls might be a small way I could let children with cancer know that people are thinking about them while they are going through their treatment.

How was the process of making the dolls?

I made 15 dolls and each doll took about 3 hours to start with. One day, closer to my deadline, I worked from morning to night and made 6 dolls! It was quicker to work as a ‘production line’.

Did you have to overcome any challenges?

At one point I didn’t think I was going to be able to donate my dolls at all! The first two hospitals I got in contact with could not accept the dolls. This is because children in intensive care have to be kept in a sterile environment and we could not completely ‘sterilise’ the dolls. I kept phoning around and I was so excited when the Ronald McDonald House at NUH agreed to accept them for patients in the outpatient ward.

How was your experience of giving away the dolls?

It was a memorable experience to gift the 15 dolls to the children. One girl was crying and very upset, but cheered up when I gave her a doll. Three brothers were so excited to get their dolls and the expression on their face was pure joy.

By Kylie Begg, MYP/IGSCE Coordinator