My sister Amy Dawn Morris lived with a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy called Werdnig-Hoffman disease. Amy and I spent hours playing with dolls and creating our own magical adventures where we could swim with dolphins, be gymnasts, ride horses, and dance. 

Amy used a wheelchair, but within these make-believe journeys with our dolls and toys, she could be active, mobile, and healthy. 

To Amy, dolls represented the opportunity to find joy, escape, and solace. She remained a passionate doll collector into young adulthood with a special love for Bob Mackie Barbies. 

My kind, loving, funny, strong sister passed away 11 days before her 22nd birthday. 

This museum was established by me and our mother, Susan, in 2012 as a tribute to Amy. The first items in our museum collection were some of Amy’s own cherished dolls. 

Amy’s spirit is a part of everything our staff, board, and volunteers do to support the museum, and it is what drives us to preserve beloved collections and legacies for future generations to discover. 

Without your support, we wouldn’t be here right now, 12 years later, continuing to celebrate creativity, joy, community, history, and legacies like Amy’s. 

Please consider donating to our nonprofit museum today on GivingTuesday.

Let’s do it for Amy!

-Beth