Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — March 13, 2025 — It was all smiles and memories coming back as a Jonesboro assisted living facility hosted a unique adoption event for its residents.
On March 13, St. Bernards Villa hosted its first Baby Doll Adoption event, where staff members handed out 30 dolls to its memory care residents that each had something unique that related to those residents.
The event was made possible through donations by Missouri nonprofit Angel Embrace, which specializes in doll therapy with those living with Alzheimer’s and children who are facing trauma or in the hospital. Including Thursday’s event, the organization has given out about 1,200 baby dolls.
“We buy dolls, brand new dolls, and we dress them, we personalize them to the individual living with Alzheimer’s,” said founder Debbie Moore. “For example, we have a lady who is a homemaker at heart. Her little shirt, the doll shirt, says ‘Homemaker at heart’. We also have someone who was in the military, and so we have the military uniform on each of the baby dolls for the gentleman.”
Moore said when designing the dolls, the team finds out about who the person is and what they like to do.
“I gave their [the residents] name and a history of their past hobbies, so like cooking or if they like the Cardinals, or if they have a favorite sports team, or if they’re in the military, I provided that information to Angels Embrace and then both created a doll specialize to that person,” said Lynn Howerton, a social worker at St. Bernards Villa.
Angels Embrace workers spend hours personalizing the dolls, Moore said. Each doll comes with an adoption certificate with its name, which Moore said are to be “positive and meaningful.”
Howerton explained that the initiative to host a baby doll adoption event started with a request from a community pageant queen, Nora Grace.
“Her mother called me and said, ‘This is a really neat opportunity, Nora Grace would love to participate in it. Would you all be open to sponsoring them?’ I’m like, “Absolutely,” Howerton said.
The event was especially close to Howerton, as her father is also a resident of the St. Bernards Villa.
“My dad actually has dementia from an old stroke, and so I’ve kind of watched his cognition decline over the years,” Howerton said. “One of the things I’ve noticed is that he’s losing his ability to communicate. He’s losing the ability to speak complete sentences. He’s lost his ability to tell time.”
Howerton said an event like this is important as it is something he can participate in and enjoy others around him.
“He might not be able to talk, he may not be able to speak, but he can still have fun,” Howerton said.
Howerton said she hopes the dolls the residents received will offer some companionship and help trigger memories.
“We have some ladies that maybe when they were young, they lived in the Depression, they didn’t get dolls, and so this may trigger a memory like, ‘Oh, I probably get the doll I’ve always wanted,” Howerton said. “Just because their brains aren’t working full throttle, we can still have fun, and even though they may forget this 15 minutes from now, we still gave them a moment that created some laughs and joy, and that’s the best medicine.”
Giving dolls like these can help a family struggling with a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s, because they don’t know how to communicate, Howerton said. She said she wants to show them that it can be simple, even if you have to work around it.
“Just bringing a stuffed animal, bringing a doll dressed up, bringing some food, you can still communicate, and engage with your loved one,” Howerton said. You can pat them on the back, you can hold their hand, and while they might not understand what you’re saying, love is the universal language.”