Barney's Lends a helping Hand For A Great Cause
Good-hearted Chicago teenagers are helping to save the lives of women struggling with AIDS in Africa.
Private school girls are marketing the “Dolls of Hope,” hand-sewn by the patients far away. The grassroots campaign stretches from Rwanda to Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood.
A bucket of dolls in a Gold Coast store symbolizes a triumph for women in Africa, and for a doctor and some school girls in Chicago.
Dr. Mardge Cohen, a Cook County HIV researcher, went to Rwanda two years ago to treat AIDS patients.
“Women who’d been raped during the genocide and were infected with HIV were dying and needed medicines very quickly,” Cohen said.
Cohen’s organization gave out medicine and sewing machines, and the patients learned to make dolls to earn money. The faces and hair, the babies on the dolls’ backs, and the colorful Rwandan textiles have international appeal.
“They’re really representative of the women who put effort in these dolls,” said Julia Luscombe, a teacher at the Latin School of Chicago.
Students from the Latin School volunteered to sell the dolls for charity. They boldly asked for space in the Barney’s New York store at 102 E. Oak St., and landed a window display.
Abby Schreiber, a high school junior at Latin, said, “I just thought I’d give it a shot; didn’t expect it to happen.”
The exposure attracted well-heeled customers.
Barney’s New York general manager Cindy Schwartz said, “They ask for the information and write the check.”
Krizia Lopez, a high school freshman at Latin, said, “The people who come here can afford $125 for charity.”
All of the money goes back to the Rwandan women.
Cohen said, “With $3, we’re able to feed a family and send the children to school for an entire year."
Barney’s has sold more than $5,000 of dolls for Rwandan AIDS victims, and the girls are thinking about careers in international business.
Private school girls are marketing the “Dolls of Hope,” hand-sewn by the patients far away. The grassroots campaign stretches from Rwanda to Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood.
A bucket of dolls in a Gold Coast store symbolizes a triumph for women in Africa, and for a doctor and some school girls in Chicago.
Dr. Mardge Cohen, a Cook County HIV researcher, went to Rwanda two years ago to treat AIDS patients.
“Women who’d been raped during the genocide and were infected with HIV were dying and needed medicines very quickly,” Cohen said.
Cohen’s organization gave out medicine and sewing machines, and the patients learned to make dolls to earn money. The faces and hair, the babies on the dolls’ backs, and the colorful Rwandan textiles have international appeal.
“They’re really representative of the women who put effort in these dolls,” said Julia Luscombe, a teacher at the Latin School of Chicago.
Students from the Latin School volunteered to sell the dolls for charity. They boldly asked for space in the Barney’s New York store at 102 E. Oak St., and landed a window display.
Abby Schreiber, a high school junior at Latin, said, “I just thought I’d give it a shot; didn’t expect it to happen.”
The exposure attracted well-heeled customers.
Barney’s New York general manager Cindy Schwartz said, “They ask for the information and write the check.”
Krizia Lopez, a high school freshman at Latin, said, “The people who come here can afford $125 for charity.”
All of the money goes back to the Rwandan women.
Cohen said, “With $3, we’re able to feed a family and send the children to school for an entire year."
Barney’s has sold more than $5,000 of dolls for Rwandan AIDS victims, and the girls are thinking about careers in international business.
