KTVT —

Tonja Moon walked with purpose into the lobby of Golden Grace Assisted Living in McKinney, holding the baby in the crook of her arm.

"Hey, everybody," she cooed to the residents seated on the couches and chairs. "Look what we have."

As Moon and the other volunteers with the Grand Baby Project passed out the rest of the babies to the memory care patients, some of them caught on.

"Is she a real baby?" a resident asked.

"If you want her to be," Moon replied.

Strictly speaking, no — the handful of baby dolls the grandparents doted on are not living. But Moon said some of her clients don't know that.

"We just want to give them the opportunity to have purpose every single day," Moon explained. "Dementia doll therapy is really just a way for residents to have purpose and connection.

See Full Page