© 2026 ABC News

\"I was playing one day, and it just came to me that I could collect Barbies to help girls in need,\" Gianni said.

A photo posted by @1kbarbiesfor1kgirls on Jan 16, 2016 at 4:55pm PST

Her mother, Whintey Graham, added that \"giving is in Gianni's blood\" and that she and Gianni donate and make cards for cancer patients at a local children's hospital every Christmas.

A photo posted by @1kbarbiesfor1kgirls on Jan 16, 2016 at 4:52pm PST

Though Gianni only started her donation collection with five barbies, those five soon multiplied into 500 after a local news station caught wind of Gianni's story, Graham said.

A photo posted by @1kbarbiesfor1kgirls on Jan 26, 2016 at 12:39pm PST

Since then, hundreds of more dolls have arrived from all over the world, and even Ashton Kutcher recently shared Gianni's story on his Fabebook page, Graham added.

A photo posted by @1kbarbiesfor1kgirls on Jan 10, 2016 at 2:12pm PST

Gianni is wrapping the Barbie doll boxes in pink paper and writing \"encouragement notes\" which say things like, \"I hope this brings you joy,\" and \"This is given to you as a friend.\"

A photo posted by @1kbarbiesfor1kgirls on Jan 6, 2016 at 9:11pm PST

The 9-year-old and her mother said they are working on getting in touch with local shelters and social services to figure out the best way to distribute the dolls to girls in need in their area.

A photo posted by @1kbarbiesfor1kgirls on Jan 12, 2016 at 8:29am PST

\"I'm so proud of her, I cry every day,\" Graham said. \"Her school is actually doing a Black History Month program soon, and they're dedicating an entrepreneurial segment to Gianni.\"

\"PHOTO:
1K Barbies for 1K Girls
PHOTO: Gianni Graham, a 9-year-old girl from Norfolk, Virginia, is on a mission to collect 1,000 Barbie dolls for homeless girls.
>

The little girl with big ambitions added that she has no plans on slowing down and hopes to grow up to be a forensic scientist one day.

A photo posted by @1kbarbiesfor1kgirls on Jan 16, 2016 at 1:19pm PST

For more information, you can visit Gianni's website, her Facebook page and Instagram.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/year-collecting-1000-barbie-dolls-homeless-girls-age/story?id=36547926","legacySlug":"/news/story/year-collecting-1000-barbie-dolls-homeless-girls-age-36547926","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"18:47","publishDate":"01-27-2016","updatedTime":"21:32","updatedDate":"01-27-2016","socialImage":{"alt":"Gianni Graham, a 9-year-old girl from Norfolk, Virginia, is on a mission to collect 1,000 Barbie dolls for homeless girls. ","credit":"1K Barbies for 1K Girls","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/HT_barbie_ml_160127_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"1/27/2016 18:47:25 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":36547926,"headline":"9-Year-Old Is Collecting 1,000 Barbie Dolls for Homeless Girls Her Age","mediaAssetTitle":"TAN_9yearold_collects_barbies_for_homeless_girls_160127","description":"\"Girls in shelters deserve the same things we have,\" Gianni Graham said. ","duration":"NaN:NaN","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{},"playlist":["133144263","132956835","132488083"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 14, 2026","headline":"Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","section":"News","slug":"/video/132956835","id":"132956835","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"9-Year-Old Is Collecting 1,000 Barbie Dolls for Homeless Girls Her Age","description":"\"Girls in shelters deserve the same things we have,\" Gianni Graham said. ","duration":"NaN:NaN","uploadDate":"01-27-2016","publication":"01-27-2016","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/year-collecting-1000-barbie-dolls-homeless-girls-age-36547926"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133075455","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063114","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133015093","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998564","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998072","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977374","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977531","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132962364","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132958371","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132932494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132927870","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911868","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911765","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"9-Year-Old Is Collecting 1,000 Barbie Dolls for Homeless Girls Her Age","pubTime":"13:47","pubDate":"01-27-2016","modTime":"16:32","modDate":"01-27-2016","taxonomyTags":"none","id":36547926,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"9-Year-Old Is Collecting 1,000 Barbie Dolls for Homeless Girls Her Age","mediaAssetTitle":"TAN_9yearold_collects_barbies_for_homeless_girls_160127","videoId":36547926,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/year-collecting-1000-barbie-dolls-homeless-girls-age-36547926"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/36547926","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/36547926","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};