Angel came from the Ashton-Drake Galleries, the third comfort doll I’ve bought for a Mansion resident. This one was for Helen.

I was unsure of the importance of these dolls at first, there is no longer any doubt in my mind that they have an enormous impact on some elderly women in assisted  care.

Their meaning to these people is almost incalculable.

They are opportunities for nurture, they ease loneliness, they promote socialization, and they give focus and structure to days that can be formless and empty.

Residents in assisted care have a lot of time to fill, and few familiar ways of filling it.

Ellen has been asking me for a comfort doll for a couple of weeks, ever since she saw Diane and Jean with dolls we purchased (we being me and the Army Of Good). Ellen cried with gratitude when she saw this doll with the baby toy lamb that came with it.

She immediately showed it to the other residents and offered it to them to hold, she thanked me a dozen times and called me “the most wonderful man.” Maybe now she won’t make so many faces at me during bingo!

Helen, one of the residents who saw Angel, took me aside and asked me if she could also get a comfort doll. She said she has never had anything like that to love in her life.

I said of course, I will order one tonight. These dollars are almost eerily life-like, and I buy another one from the Ashton-Drake collection, this one cost $149.99. It is worth it.

If you wish to support my Mansion work, donations are welcome, small ones as well as large ones. They can go to me, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected].

These dolls are among the most meaningful things I’ve done yet at the Mansion. They really work.Thanks for helping.