糖心vlog

Editor鈥檚 Note: This is part of a special series, Moms Who Wow Us, where we partnered with Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and the "Today" show to honor everyday heroes ahead of Mother鈥檚 Day. You can read about all the moms we鈥檙e celebrating here.Every expectant mother鈥檚 worst nightmare became a reality for Jessica Bachus, 40, on Jan. 23, 2007 鈥� her second daughter Kenzi was stillborn at just 24 weeks. Before Kenzi鈥檚 passing, Jessica and her husband frequently talked about the day when both of their daughters could play together, and how there would be double the number of dolls under the family Christmas tree. 鈥淲hen Kenzi passed away, all of my hopes and dreams went away too,鈥� Jessica says. The Colorado-based mother was overcome with emotion, but she eventually decided to channel her grief into honoring Kenzi鈥檚 memory.Jessica knew that even if she couldn鈥檛 give dolls to both of her daughters that year, she could still make the holidays special for another little girl. With the help of her husband, Kyle, and their daughter, Bailey, she collected more than 150 dolls to gift to underprivileged girls in the community. 鈥淲hen I saw a family pick up a doll that we donated, I cried tears of joy for the first time in almost a year,鈥� Jessica says. So, she continued to collect dolls and founded Dolls for Daughters, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting financially strapped families in Colorado with toys, food, school supplies and more. Now going into its ninth annual giveaway, the Dolls for Daughters and Toys for Boys Program operates five toy shops in the state of Colorado on the first Saturday in December. At the events, parents are able to choose at least one new gift for each of their children free of charge.鈥淭he majority of the families in our program make less than $15,000 a year,鈥� Jessica says. 鈥淎nd a lot of the children are used to getting hand-me-downs 鈥� this is one time we guarantee that what they get is brand new.鈥� Jessica has also launched two spin-off programs: Packz 4 Kids, which provides children with backpacks full of school supplies, and Kenzi鈥檚 Kidz, which supports underprivileged families long-term. Since Dolls for Daughters' inception, more than 48,000 children have been served and more than 323,400 items have been gifted to the families.Jessica and her husband now have four children鈥斺€渢hree that walk and one that soars,鈥� they say of kids Bailey, Kam, Karson, and Kenzi. 鈥淲e talk about Kenzi all the time, and last year our goal was to serve 10,000 kids since she would鈥檝e been 10. It was a big number and we surpassed it,鈥� Jessica says. 鈥淔or our living children, volunteering is a beautiful way for them to give back, honor their sister, and to learn that even from your greatest tragedy can come something beautiful.鈥滷ind out how to support Dolls for Daughters at dollsfordaughters.com.