The Life of a Worry Doll
Worry Dolls Making a Difference One Truck Stop at a Time
We all know it’s been a tough year. For Chelly, she did not go through anything traumatic herself — she maintained her job, stayed healthy, but, like many of us, suffered the nation’s collective trauma as she saw friends die not only from COVID but by suicide due to the ripple effect of the pandemic.
The Pandemic hit the trucking industry hard. Feeling defeated, she knew she needed to do something to disperse positive energy into a world that was falling apart. Her idea to scatter worry dolls came to her in a dream. Upon waking, she headed to Walmart to pick up popsicle sticks, embroidery floss, round fluffy balls, Sharpies, and a glue gun.
And just like that, her first worry doll was born.
After coming upon hard times, for the past two years, she and her husband, Jason, live in the cab of their 18-wheeler truck, and that’s where the dolls are born. Chelly makes the dolls when she is in a good place to infuse them only with positive energy. She also crafts them at truck-stop restaurants, where they’ve proven to be great conversation starters. She will send a doll to anyone who requests one, refusing to accept money for them. Traveling to several states daily, she had a natural avenue to distribute…
