Judges to select best-dressed Goodfellows dolls

Volunteers from all over metro Detroit dressed 8,000 dolls for the Old Newsboys’ Goodfellows Fund of Detroit this year. The dolls will be distributed to girls ages 4-9 in Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods and River Rouge this Christmas.
Goodfellows members selected 150 of the 8,000 dolls to put on display for public viewing. This year’s exhibition will be at a new location — in the lobby of Comerica’s Michigan Market headquarters, 411 W. Lafayette in Detroit — Nov. 17 through Dec. 2. The building’s glass facade make it an ideal location to showcase the doll display, which will be visible to pedestrians walking along W. Lafayette.

On Nov. 23, judges will select the 10 best-dressed from the 150 dolls now on display. Judges will also choose the overall “Best of Show” from the 10 finalists. Winners will receive a plaque of appreciation and a lapel pin from the Detroit Goodfellows.

 The 13th annual, city-wide contest is sponsored by Comerica. Comerica dresses more than 1,000 dolls each year, making it the largest dressing group.  Other companies participating this year include City of Detroit, TACOM, DTE Energy, State of Michigan, Chase Bank, Miller Canfield, IRS Detroit, Compuware and more.

This year’s judges include: Neal Rubin, columnist, The Detroit News; Goodfellows Doll Committee Chair Mike Kijewski; and Detroit Goodfellows board members.

All dolls will be packaged in Detroit Goodfellows Christmas gift boxes containing warm clothes, books, candy and toys. Detroit Police precincts will distribute 34,000 Goodfellows holiday packages to children aged 4-13, in December. Funds raised by the Detroit Goodfellows pay for the holiday packages; the group’s 2015 fundraising goal is $1.1 million. This is the Detroit Goodfellows’ 102nd year of distributing gift boxes to children as it fulfills its mission of “No kiddie without a Christmas.”

 Founded in 1914, the Detroit Goodfellows is the original and oldest Goodfellows organization and is not affiliated with any other Goodfellows group. It also sponsors an emergency dental program for children, awards scholarships through Wayne State University, provides free shoes to children in need and helps send hundreds of needy children to camp each summer.