Fab Friday Spotlight: Gianni Graham
In this week's Fab Friday Spotlight we're highlighting Gianni Graham. The 9-year-old from Virginia is on a mission to collect 1,000 Barbies.
Many little girls could only dream of having a doll collection that size but for Gianni, these toys aren't for her to play with - but to share.
It all started shortly after Christmas. Gianni says she was playing one day when she got an inspiring idea.
"...it just came to me that I could collect Barbies to help girls in need," Gianni told ABC News.
From that ordinary day, an extraordinary project was born: "1K Barbies for 1K Girls" The goal: to collect 1,000 new Barbies to donate to 1,000 girls living in homeless shelters.
"Girls in shelters deserve the same things we have," Gianni told ABC News.
Gianni's started out with just a few dolls but as of this week, her collection has grown to over 800 and counting - with donations pouring in from all across the world.
Each Barbie that's donated gets wrapped with girly flair - a box with pink paper and hand written notes with encouraging words like "I hope this brings you joy," and "This is given to you as a friend."
Once all 1,000 Barbies are collected, they will each be given away to a little girl in the Virginia area.
We salute Gianni Graham for her hard work, dedication and desire to make life a little brighter for girls in need - one doll at a time.
To learn more or to donate to "1K Barbies for 1K Girls" check out the following links:
**UPDATE** Gianni reached her goal! Yay!
#befabulous