Woman finds her calling by giving old dolls a new lease on life to help people with autism
Rebecca decided to use the time she had during the pandemic to do something positive. She found her calling in repurposing and recycling old toys.
When you are passionate about something, you never work a day in your life. We would like to think that is true of our team, for instance the passion that Carol Ofori brings to her work shines through on her show. There's no faking it when it comes to being genuine and she loves radio, she loves talking to people and learning new things.
So when we saw this story, it immediately resonated with Carol Ofori and her brand. A woman named Rebecca Di Biagio from Italy had an idea when the pandemic hit, she thought about doing something that helped the environment, brought smiles to people's faces, and also allowed her to have a creative outlet.
She turned to Facebook and asked people to send her their broken or unwanted toys, specifically dolls. She received a great response and decided to start the 'Adotta una Bambolla' (Adopt A Doll) project. She began giving old dolls a new lease on life and literally gave them each a makeover.
Some of them got 50s themed dresses, others became rock stars, and there was even one dedicated to the medical staff who have been working relentlessly to help people during the pandemic; while some even mimicked musical legends like Freddie Mercury. Her creativity has been both inspiring and unique.
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Once Rebecca completed her transformations of the dolls, she would then take to the streets and donate them, she would go up to people and ask them if they would like to adopt one of the dolls. She would even create identities for the dolls so that people would have a story related to the doll they adopted.
When a BBC News reporter asked why she donates them rather than reselling them, she said that she felt due to the pandemic it wasn't the right time to ask people for something, she went on to say: "It's the time to give something when people need it."
Her project has gained such traction that people all over Italy have been sending her their dolls. This prompted her to start a workshop to teach people who are autistic how to repurpose dolls. She wanted to share this with others and also help the autism community. She said that her mother and brother were both autistic and she knows what it's like.
Over and above giving people a reason to smile, she is also helping the environment as many of these dolls end as waste. So it's a win, win, win for Rebecca and her doll saving mission.
Image Courtesy of Instagram