It's taken three months of clever crafting by the residents of a Gerringong nursing home to produce 28 rag dolls, from punk rockers to pirates, to bring a smile to sick and injured kids.
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That's exactly what happened when the residents of Uniting Gerringong took a trip to Wollongong Hospital's children's ward on Tuesday morning, and handed out the colourful dolls.
The idea for the initiative came from the residents according to the facility's leisure and lifestyle co-ordinator, Margaret Darling, and now they're planning to keep going.
"It's been a delight to see our residents come together, supporting each other and the community - the project has grown so quickly because of their enthusiasm," she said. "They are very excited to be sharing their creations with the children."
For Warrawong's Chloe Johnson, it wasn't ideal to be celebrating her 11th birthday in hospital - but the gift of a ballerina doll was a nice surprise.
"It was such a gift too for the residents to see kids like Chloe really appreciate something they'd made," Uniting Gerringong's Charlie Yole said.
"Around 25 residents helped make the dolls, and 12 came to the hospital to give them to the children.
"It's been special for both the children and residents."