I brought Helen her new Ashton-Dlake gallery comfort doll today, I thought she might like it on this cold and dark night. Helen was sitting at her seat in the dining room and we asked her to come out in the hall so I could give her the baby doll privately.

She was overwhelmed with gratitude and love, she thanked me for it and invited me to come back to her room so she could put it safely to bed while she ate.

“I can’t thank you enough, ” she said trying again and again.

Helen is shy and very quiet, I saw her look of longing when Ellen showed her the comfort doll she got. She even gave me a big hug, something she has never done.

“I have a purpose now,” Helen said, surprising me even further.

That is what the Mansion aides always tell me, the dolls give people purpose, especially those with memory disorders or dementia.

While we walked to her room, I saw two men walking to dinner, and I saw the way they looked at Helen’s doll. I decided to launch a new Mansion initiative, a Men’s Comfort Initiative.

Earlier,  Gertrud posted a Facebook message for me  alerting me to a new Hasbro line of “comfort” animals called Joy For All Companions.  This could be a pathway to the men, I thought.

I ordered two cats (possibly for men, but also for at least one of the women residents, she adores cats) and a Cavalier King Plush Doll I think one of the male residents would like. I will present it to him in private in his room in case he is embarrassed to get a stuffed animal.

Thanks to the Army Of Good, the Mansion has a cat, Summer, who sleeps in different places at the Mansion each night, I know two of the residents who would love to hold a realistic cat and have it with them at night.

I think I know one man who will love the Spaniel plush, and I hope to be able to offer some comfort to the one or two men at the Mansion who suffer from some kinds of dementia. The Hasbro collection might be easier for them to embrace.

As one might imagine, the men are much more guarded about their emotions and needs, but I know several of them trust me and know me.  I’ve helped them with clothes like socks and underwear and sweatshirts.

Publicly, they would scoff at the idea of a doll, two of them are old farmers. Dogs and cats might be different.

So it’s worth a try to expand this program and make it available to anyone who might need it or want it at the Mansion.

I’ll talk to the aides and staff about it. I have enough funds in the Mansion account to purchase these comfort animals – the three of them will cost about $300 – and thanks for your support.

They will add greatly to our campaign to spread some holiday joy to the aides and residents at the Mansion. I’ve ordered four big boxes of cookies to bring each week between Thanksgiving and Christmas for the aides, I’ll put it in the office where they can all share them.