Mark Herz: This is GBH's Morning Edition. Dolls are a popular gift during the holiday season, but for some young children, finding a doll in your likeness can be a challenge.
GBH's Morning Edition spoke with one Wellesley student who's on a mission to change that.
Zoe Terry: Hello, my name is Zoe Terry. I'm 19 years old, and I'm the CEO and founder of Zoe's Dolls.
[MUSIC UP]
I was bullied because of the color of my skin and the texture of my hair. So this was a way for me to empower other girls. But another reason is every year around Christmas time before I started Zoe's Dolls, my mom used to work at a women's shelter in Miami. So every year I would give away one of my brand new Christmas toys around Christmas time to a kid in the women's shelter who may not have gotten a Christmas gift. And so that gift of like just being able to help your community has always been something that's been instilled in me since a very young age.
[AUDIO CUT OF ZOE AS A CHILD]
I do Zoe's Dolls because I want little brown girls to know that their image is beautiful and that they are just special just the way they are.
[END CUT]
Terry: So I am now in college. I go to Wellesley College here in Massachusetts, and Zoe's Dolls has completely evolved, and just is so ever-evolving. Since I was five that first year, I got 150. And since starting, we've given out over 60,000 dolls to girls in Haiti, Africa, the Netherlands, Cuba, Ireland, Jamaica, Greece, a variety of different places, and places in the United States as well.
[AUDIO CUT OF ZOE SPEAKING AFFIRMATIONS WITH YOUNG GIRLS]
I'm beautiful. I am beautiful. I am powerful.
[FADE DOWN]
Terry: One girl, we gave her a doll, and it was a doll that really reflected her image. She had darker skin, really short hair, and we have found like the perfect, perfect, perfect doll for her. And it was just by coincidence, like this wasn't planned. I didn't know what she looked like before. But when we gave her this doll, I remember she just gave me the biggest hug, and she just kept hugging me. She was like, Zoe, I love this doll. I love this doll. She looks just like me.
[MUSIC FADE UP THEN DOWN]
We also don't just give dolls to Black girls, we give it to any girl who wants a doll, anybody who wants a doll. We've given dolls out to grandmothers because growing up, they didn't have dolls that reflected their image. Also, girls who want diverse dolls — like that's a beautiful thing to be able to empower the Black image and for people to see Black dolls as beautiful. I want to be able to reach more schools, more community organizations to help Black girls and to empower Black girls. Like, this is what I love to do. And I want to come to you. I need every every girl to know that the Black image is beautiful, Black girls are beautiful. I want everyone to feel empowered.
Herz: Zoe's Dolls recently hosted their first Massachusetts event, with a giveaway and service day at Mother Caroline Academy in Dorchester last week.
This story was produced by Rachel Armany and edited by Karen Marshall. You're listening to GBH.
Dolls are a popular gift during the holiday season, but for some young children, finding a doll in your likeness can be a challenge.
According to a 2021 study from the company “More than Dolls,” 52% of Black mothers said there aren’t enough dolls reflecting their race/ethnicity available at retail stores.
Wellesley student Zoe Terry is the CEO and Founder of Zoe’s Dolls, a non-profit that has been on a mission for the last 14 years to gift dolls of color to Black and brown girls.
“I was bullied because of the color of my skin and the texture of my hair, so this was a way for me to empower other girls,” Terry said. “But another reason is every year around Christmas time before I started Zoe’s Dolls, my mom used to work at a women’s shelter in Miami, so every year I would give away one of my brand new Christmas toys around Christmas time to a kid in the women’s shelter who may not have gotten a Christmas gift. And so that gift of just being able to help your community has always been something that’s been instilled in me since a very young age.”
Terry started Zoe’s Dolls when she was five years old and living in Miami, but the organization has since expanded around the world.
“That first year I got 150 [dolls],” she said. “And since starting, we’ve given out over 60,000 dolls to girls in Haiti, Africa, the Netherlands, Cuba, Ireland, Jamaica, Greece, and a variety of different places in the United States as well.”
Now a sophomore at Wellesley College, Terry said she is ready to bring her efforts to Massachusetts.
“I want to impact the community I now live in. I want to make sure that people I’m around feel beautiful, feel empowered. And that’s always been really important to me,” Terry said. “I think it’s also just really important when you move to a new place to immerse yourself in that culture and immerse yourself in that community. ”
Terry recently hosted a doll giveaway and service day at Mother Caroline Academy in Dorchester — a tuition-free private, all-girls elementary and middle school that serves under-resourced communities. The event also included a “care closet” — where girls who need clothing can go inside and choose items for their wardrobe.
Terry said that the feedback she has gotten from children over the years has been heart-warming.
“One girl, we gave her a doll, and it was a doll that really reflected her image,” she said. “She had darker skin, really short hair, and we have found like the perfect, perfect, perfect doll for her. And it was just by coincidence, like this wasn’t planned. I didn’t know what she looked like before. But when we gave her this doll, I remember she just gave me the biggest hug, and she just kept hugging me. She was like, 'Zoe, I love this doll. I love this doll. She looks just like me.’”
Zoe’s Dolls also gifts dolls to older women who did not grow up with toys that looked like them — along with any girl who wants to diversify her doll collection.
“That’s a beautiful thing to be able to empower the Black image and for people to see Black dolls as beautiful,” she said.
Terry said the non-profit is looking to expand to more schools and community organizations throughout the Commonwealth.
Anyone looking to donate or partner Zoe’s Dolls or donate dolls of color can find more information at their website.
