The children waited as patiently and politely as could be expected for a bunch of preschoolers. With wide eyes, they bounced and jostled and raised their hands when prompted. Their faces were still flushed from playing outside on a cool, sunny morning.

The subject of their attention? Gayle Keller and dozens of dolls stacked up behind her.

“I wanted to create something that inspires kids just like you,” Keller said, before proceeding to distribute her dolls and delighting the kids into a warm, happy ruckus.

Children in the Maple classroom eagerly await the distribution of the dolls. (All photos taken by photographer Nancy Stone for Brightpoint)

In total, Keller is donating 300 of her Theodora S.T.E.A.M. dolls to Brightpoint preschoolers, starting with the recent distribution at the Brightpoint Child & Family Center in Carpentersville. Opened in 2015, the center serves about 150 children, from infants to 5-year-olds, providing Head Start and other wraparound services for families with low incomes.

Gayle Keller reads to the children from one of the S.T.E.A.M. Doll storybooks.

Back to the dolls: Keller founded her company in the fall 2023 after leaving a career in tech, most recently at Microsoft, to follow her passion of empowering women and to spend more time with her family. Her S.T.E.A.M. dolls – representing science, technology, engineering, art and math – come equipped with a superpower, a storybook and a set of stickers.

Their superpowers are not of the web slinging variety but instead more attainable: clarity, courage, confidence, decisiveness and balance.

The dolls are also racially diverse, which was clearly appreciated by the racially diverse students in the Maple classroom at the Carpentersville center.

“Having the girls, in particular, see themselves in the dolls and the stories is just really cool,” said Stephanie Carnduff, site manager of the center for the past two and a half years.

In the working-class community of Carpentersville, the child & family center provides a critical resource for families in need of child care and other services. Most of the center’s classrooms are part of the federally funded Head Start program, which provides free child care and additional support services to parents.

Walk into the bright and airy facility, you’ll see clothes, shoes and other donated items set out for families in need. The center’s staff also connects families to everything from banking resources in the community to food assistance, Carnduff said.

“It’s just a very beautiful community,” Carnduff said. “Everyone really supports each other. And I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Coleen Buntin and her preschool students pose for a group photo with their classroom pet, Maui the hermit crab.

The data shows the center’s approach is working. About 82 percent of more than 140 children tested are already meeting or exceeding developmental milestones, according to quarterly impact data, outpacing typical school-year trends for this time of year.

And importantly, more than two-thirds of their parents reported feeling less stressed and more supported since they started to bring their children to the center.

Teacher Melanie Slager washes a child’s hands in one of the center’s infant classrooms.

Keller learned of Brightpoint’s mission through her friend and former colleague Tish Newcomer, who serves on the West Suburban Auxiliary, a regional board that’s raised funds and awareness for Brightpoint for more than 70 years.

Tish Newcomer, at left, of the West Suburban Auxiliary Board, introduced her friend Gayle Keller to the Brightpoint mission.

As the mother of two girls and, now, an award-winning toy maker (who won a 2024 Women in Toys award), Keller said donating the dolls to inspire Brightpoint’s preschoolers was an easy decision.

“What spoke to me is Brightpoint provides an environment where families can really trust that their children are provided the positivity and stability to grow,” Keller said. “They say it takes a village and Brightpoint is part of the village.”