Peace Keepers Memorial- Calgary Alberta

Pictured here is the bronze statue from the Peace keepers memorial in Calgary Alberta. It is of a Canadian Soldier Cpl. Mark Isfeld giving an Izzy doll to a village girl. (More about the Izzy doll below)

Another part of this memorial is a wall feature that carries the names of the Canadian Peace Keepers as well as diplomats, killed in the line of duty.

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The Izzy Doll Story

Master Corporal Mark Isfeld, for whom the dolls are named, was killed in an explosion while clearing landmines in Croatia in 1994. Not too long before he died, he had asked his mother to create little dolls that he and fellow members of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment could give to the children they encountered every day. After he died, his parents, Carol and Brian Isfeld, continued to organize the knitting and distribution of the dolls until their deaths.

Now, Shirley O’Connell, of the Order of the Eastern Star, continues Mark Isfeld’s legacy at the request of the Isfeld family. Members of the order collected the handcrafted dolls from women in communities throughout Ontario and turned them over to Major Chris Ayotte, who will ensure that the dolls reach their destination. The order and the Canadian Military Engineers Association provide a network of military engineers who assist in the collection and delivery of Izzy dolls to deployed troops, to be given to the children they encounter every day.

Some dolls have recently been distributed to children in Afghanistan and Jamaica. Izzy dolls are also being distributed throughout Africa via a partnership with International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering Canada.

Since December 2005, the Order of the Eastern Star has provided more than 18 000 Izzy dolls to the CF for distribution worldwide.