In June 2016, we proudly told the extraordinary story of Taylor Richardson, a then 12-year-old girl who, in addition to already being a history-maker, a philanthropist and literacy advocate, is an aspiring astronaut on a determined mission to be the first African American woman to travel to Mars. Now 13 and on a fast trajectory toward making her big dream a reality, Taylor recently raised over $20,000 to send over 1,000 kids to see ‘Hidden Figures‘ and spoke at the 2017 March for Science in Washington, D.C. In recognition of how remarkably inspiring she is, Taylor has now been featured in the ‘Inspired by Real Kids’ video series, a campaign by Lottie dolls.
To bring its campaign to life, Lottie, a maker of award-winning dolls designed to empower kids to be themselves, collaborated with filmmaker and documentarian Elena Rossini (‘The Illusionists‘). Through the power of storytelling, each video in the series will champion a real girl who has inspired Lottie.
Taylor, who became part of the Lottie story last year when she and her mother, Toni, were looking for a diverse STEM doll and came across Stargazer Lottie, is among the esteemed group of young role models being honored in this dynamic way. Her ‘Inspired by Real Kids’ video debuted last week. [Editor’s Update 10.30.17: Taylor is also the inspiration behind Lottie’s Astro Adventure outfit set, which is now available.]
Additional ‘Inspired by Real Kids’ video shorts will be made available over the summer via Lottie social media. The girls who will be featured include:
Abigail (B.C., Canada, age 6) – her Stargazer Lottie doll ended up spending #264 days on the International Space Station last year as part of Tim Peake’s mission (her video)
Allie (Sioux Falls, USA, age 12) – she inspired Robot Girl Lottie doll following her own robot creation made completely from recyclable materials for a school science fair and was recently shortlisted for the 2017 Discovery Education Young Scientist Challenge
Cadence (Ridgefield, USA, age 10) – she inspired a fishing accessory based on her love of the outdoors and fishing with her Dad along the river
Lily (Ohio, USA, age 8) – she designed her dream superhero Lottie outfit as part of Lottie’s international competition, to demonstrate that girls can be superheroes too
In terms of just how much influence and impact real girls have on Lottie, many of the full range of dolls, outfits, accessories and playsets it offers have been inspired by creative and imaginative kids who’ve submitted their designs to the toymaker, via monthly competitions. How cool is that?