Nonpro t
BY CASSANDRA JENKINS
The Grand Baby Project aids individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia Tonja Moon founded the Houston-based non- pro t The Grand Baby Project in 2022 in memory of her grandmother, Ruby Sims, who struggled with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. “Watching her journey through Alzheimer’s and dementia was especially hard,” Moon said. “She had a baby doll that she loved, and after she died, it felt like God planted a seed in me that I would do something with people who had memory loss and therapy dolls.” About 17 years later, Moon said she started to learn about dementia education through hospice care, studying under a neurologist in Japan, diving into doll therapy and eventually using that knowl- edge to create the nonpro t. About the organization The Grand Baby Project aims to improve the lives of those living with dementia through the innova- tive use of dementia therapy dolls, which, according to the organization’s website, can provide bene ts such as increasing social engagement, emotional well-being, cognitive stimulation, behavioral adjustments and a sense of purpose. Moon said she has seen some unbelievable things when gifting the dolls to patients. “We had a woman in Houston who was in her late 80s and she lived in a senior care community,” she said. “She had lost her ability to verbalize, which is very common as dementia progresses, and her daughter had not heard her voice in over two years. When we gave her [the doll], she began to hum and
Senior care communities can partner with the nonpro t to receive an order of baby dolls for residents.
PHOTOS COURTESY THE GRAND BABY PROJECT
sing. It was incredible.” How it works
The dolls are designed to be dementia-friendly, Moon said, created from handblown soft silicone and without hair, eyelashes or noise, but infused with the scent of baby lotion. Moon said there is a speci c training for giving out the dolls that includes a virtual training plat- form, resource materials and an array of activities to perform with the doll.
Founder Tonja Moon said she has given out over 5,000 therapy dolls since 2022.
www.thegrandbabyproject.org
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