Dolls For Daughters - Kenzi's Kids

In 2007 I created Dolls for Daughters to collect new dolls for girls in our community in memory of my daughter Kenzi. In 2009 after two successful years of collecting and donating dolls, I decided to turn Dolls for Daughters into a non-profit in the hopes that I would be able to make a bigger difference and touch the lives of more children. I also strongly felt that this was the best way to continue to honor Kenzi and have her live on through the organization. As Dolls for Daughters continues to grow I am amazed at how much of a difference my little angle Kenzi has made and will continue to make. Even though I miss Kenzi dearly and would give anything to have her back, making the difference in the life of one child makes my pain a little less.

Personal Background

I was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming and moved to Denver, Colorado in 1998. It was here where I met my future husband, Kyle. Together we have four children – Bailey, Kenzi, Kamden and Karson.

Professional Background

I obtained a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Secondary Education from Metropolitan State College of Denver. I taught three years for Denver Public Schools before returning to the University of Colorado to obtain my master’s degree in Information Learning Technologies with an emphasis in Library Science. I am a certified Teacher Librarian and am certified to teach Secondary English Education. I am not currently teaching but focusing my time on my family and Dolls for Daughters.

Outstanding Young Coloradoan 2010 Award Winner
One of the 2011 Ten Outstanding Young Americans

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I first met Jessica in the lobby of Bachus & Schanker in December of 2007. She was dropping off dolls in our front office with her oldest daughter Bailey. I remember Bailey looking up at Jessica and saying that “she wanted to send the doll she was holding to her sister Kenzie in Heaven.” I will never forget that day and the look on Bailey’s face. As December 2008 rolled around I learned more about Dolls for Daughters and the story behind the organization. I knew Dolls for Daughters was an organization that I wanted to be apart of and believed in.

Personal Background

My husband and I are expecting our first child in May. It’s a BOY! I can personally say that I understand now more than ever the love a mother has for a child. I could never imagine what Jessica went through when she lost Kenzi. Jessica has been an inspiration to me and so many others. Her ongoing desire to honor her second daughter Kenzi is beautiful. I hope that I can be as good of a mother as she is.

My first year on the board of directors was a privilege and I am excited to see what the next year has to offer as being the Kenzi Kidz Co- Director.
I was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. My father was in the military so the first ten years of my life I moved around the United States. We finally settled in Aurora, Colorado. I met my amazing husband three years ago and we will celebrate our first wedding anniversary on January 9, 2010. We are your average newlywed couple. We look forward to bring kids into this world in the future.

Professional Background

I have been at Bachus & Schanker, LLC since November of 2007. I am currently working as a personal injury litigation paralegal.

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I met Jessica while working with the March of Dimes. Being a father of two premature children, both Jessica’s story, her passion and support to the cause led me to Dolls for Daughters. I am honored to support Dolls for Daughters and hope to use my knowledge in the non-profit world to add value and support to Dolls for Daughters.

Personal and Professional Background

A single father of two girls, Makenna who is 6 and Kyla who is 3 is what motivates me every day. Seth has been involved in non-profit for over 7 years and is very involved with the Denver community. Seth also supports other nonprofits including SECOR, Denver Rescue Mission and The Children’s Hospital. Today Seth works with AMC Cancer Fund raising awareness and funds for cancer treatment and research.

Seth hopes to leverage his connections and relationships to reach the goals of Dolls for Daughters. He enjoys spending time with his girls, sports, attending events, working in the yard and eating…anywhere!

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I have had a professional relationship with Bachus & Schanker for several years, and was happy to help when Jessica asked me to file some trademark applications for Dolls for Daughters and Kenzi’s Kidz. Our acquaintance grew as the work progressed, and because Jessica’s passion and drive are highly contagious, my interest in Dolls for Daughters grew. I volunteered at the 2nd Annual Dolls for Daughters and Toys for Boys Toy Shop in December 2011, and was hooked. After seven hours of line-monitoring, assisting, and handing-out presents to children, parents and grand-parents, my feet were sore, my back ached, and my face hurt from smiling. It was about as much fun as a person can have.

Personal Background

I was born and grew up in Kansas, where I spent most of my time on the water, skiing and racing sailboats. But when I was a teenager my parents bought a vacation home in the Colorado mountains and I became obsessed with frozen water. I taught skiing, raced and coached racing at Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Vail and in New Zealand, Canada and Germany, then took up snowboarding and taught that for a few years too. Eventually I broke my leg, and decided to become a lawyer. I am a Kansas Jayhawk, both undergrad and law school, but I am a CU Buffalo parent, and support education at both the Sturm School of Law at DU, where I am a mentor, and at CU where I participate in the JD Pathways.

Professional Background

I have been practicing law since 1983, and am now with the same law firm, Jones & Keller, that I started with right out of law school. But between 1986 and 2004 I was general counsel for a number of International companies, and lived in Germany, Canada, Colorado and Spain, and spent a lot of time in Russia, Mongolia, Nashville, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Europe. I returned to private practice with Jones & Keller in 2004, where I practice securities, finance, corporate governance and international transactional law.

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Victor Dawson is Founder and President of Summit Group International, a global product sourcing company focused on helping companies find the right manufacturer in the world to produce their products. And then manages the entire process, including quality assurance.

Victor is a key partner in the Crankset Group in the US and Asia. This company teaches and coaches groups of business owners about how to develop a mature business that can provide them with money, time, and significance in 3 to 5 years.

He has spent a lot of time in China during the past 12 years and also travels and does business in many other countries around the world.

The best words to describe him are Global Business Owner, Speaker, Business Coach, Servant Leader, and World Traveler.

In the last 30 years, Victor has held several senior executive and consulting positions with responsibility for sales and marketing, product development, manufacturing, distribution/fulfillment, quality assurance, and shipping & logistics.

He holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech in Atlanta and an Executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, the #2 ranked Executive MBA program in the World according to the Wall Street Journal.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of CBMC USA (Christian Business Men’s Connection) and Agape Global Holdings in Hong Kong, China.

Victor lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife of 37 years, Nan, and they have two adult children and a grandson.

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Alison Roper-Zuckert brings a combination of charitable giving, business acumen and, most importantly, the love of children to the Dolls for Daughters Board.  Alison is a Colorado native where she currently lives with her husband, John, and their four children aged 3 to 8 years-old.  Alison partners with her husband in a vibrant Real Estate business at Kentwood Cherry Creek.

Alison graduated from the University of Colorado for her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and obtained her MBA from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.  Before she began her career in Real Estate, Alison worked in the stock market trading equities both on the retail and institutional levels.

Over the years, Alison has volunteered her time for multiple organizations including: Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, and currently sits on the board of the Circle of Friends for the Colorado Children’s Campaign.  She is also an active parent at her children’s school and coaches one of her daughter’s soccer teams.

Dolls for Daughters is near and dear to Alison’s heart as she nearly lost her life and that of her first born during pregnancy.  Alison was diagnosed with Class 1 HELLP Syndrome resulting in the two month pre-term delivery of her daughter.  After weeks of personal recovery and a six-week stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for her daughter, Alison understands the pain and anguish a parent feels when their child is extremely ill. 

Alison appreciates that Dolls for Daughters was created by a mother’s love of a daughter she lost and continues Kenzi’s legacy by putting smiles on the faces of thousands of needy children.

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Coming Soon

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