9-Year-Old Encourages the Sick, One Doll At a Time

Guest Writer: Alexis Janel

Charlotte Gould, a ten-year-old Arizona native, has been using her Stitches by Charlotte vision to help calm the spirits of children due for medical procedures. After receiving a sewing machine for Christmas, she designed her first doll to look like her.

The intriguing factor of the doll is that its smile included stitches, relative to the scar from Charlotte’s cleft lip and palate birth defect. After countless surgeries, her smile shines brighter than ever, and she wanted to make a difference in other children’s lives who face health crises.

Truly remarkable! Her doll line is the first kid-created surgery companion doll line for both boys and girls. The dolls resemble candy stripers, which are young girls and boys who volunteer and dedicate time to hospitals. Their tasks typically include delivering mail or flowers in hospital rooms or visiting patients. Fun Fact: I was once a candy striper, back in my high school days, and learned a lot about the medical field that continues to inspire me today!

Each doll comes with stitching accessories, of which a parent or hospital staff personnel can sew stitches on a doll unique to a child’s surgery. Charlotte has sewn stitches to resemble a scar on the chest for a heart warrior and on the brain for a brain surgery warrior. To date, her dolls have been featured on American Girl Magazine, Disney Radio, and Good Morning America. A portion of all sales goes to charity. For more information, please visit stitchesbycharlotte.com.

Charlotte encouraged my heart, because she reminded me that children are very intelligent, can see the needs of others, and take action. If a child can look beyond herself and do something as impactful as this, what then is my excuse or yours? Your impact, whatever that may be, goes beyond just you. Use your talents and abilities to benefit our society for the better and create a wave of inspiration. You never know who is being inspired by you!