The Giving Doll was created and copyrighted by Jan Householder in March 2006, as a community volunteer project, when a friend’s daughter (Katherine) became a patient at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Handmade cloth dolls were constructed by volunteer sewers, and Katherine took the first dolls to the hospital, when she went for treatments. As other needs became apparent, the program expanded to include children in a variety of settings worldwide. In 2009 The Giving Doll, Inc. became a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. In December 2011, The Giving Doll reached a milestone when doll ten-thousand was donated.
