Missouri woman donates 600 Barbies with prosthetic legs to kids in the hospital

Ashleigh Bentz wants to make sure every child has a toy that looks just like them.

The Springfield, Missouri, resident was born without a fibula in her right leg, and was also missing bones in her foot and two toes. When she was 2, her leg was amputated and she was fitted with a prosthetic. "I played kickball, sometimes my leg would fall off during kickball, but that's just it," she told KY3.

Bentz is now a certified prosthetic assistant, and wants to make sure that kids who have had limbs amputated don't feel left out. She launched a fundraiser and used the $2,500 in donations to purchase 600 Barbie dolls that either have prosthetics or use a wheelchair. "For there to be a gift that a kid could potentially pick out that looks just like them, that's big," Bentz said.

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The dolls have been given to Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis, and officials there said they have enough dolls to pass out for several years. Bentz hopes there will soon be a male doll, for full inclusion. Catherine Garcia