June 19, 2013
NY Teacher Raises $14K to Take Underprivileged Kids to ‘American Girl’
After hearing his students say that they thought visiting the store was unattainable and “just for white girls,” a Bed-Stuy teacher, Rob Robinson, raised $14,000 to take his 7-10 year old African-American girl students to the upscale Midtown doll store ‘American Girl‘, that sells super expensive dolls and lets the customers have tea with them.
“That’s a place that white girls go to,” Robinson had heard one of the students at P.S. 28 say.
The website that Robinson set up called “27 Girls of Color to American Girl NYC,” raised enough money for Robinson and chaperones to buy the girls dolls, new clothes, shoulder bags, and a private dining experience with the toys in the store.
“I decided I had to help change their perception of themselves and their worth,” Robinson told DNAinfo. “This is less about the dolls, and more about telling them you have access to any place.”