The recipient of this week's Ben's Bell is "the Puppet Lady," Rita Rago.
She was nominated by Melissa Lopez of Rise Services, an agency providing programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental challenges. Rago now is donating puppets to Rise clients.
Rago, 90, made puppets for her own children, then her grandchildren. Once her offspring were grown, she started donating her puppets to hospitals and child-welfare agencies. Over the decades, she has made and given away as many as 10,000 puppets, said Michaela Luna, family-services supervisor at Rise.
Rago scours coloring books and watches cartoons to find inspiration for her work. She likes her puppets to be contemporary. Early on, they were created in the image of characters from the 1950s show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" and Shari Lewis' sock puppet Lamb Chop. Now Rago is making puppets modeled after characters from Sesame Street and SpongeBob SquarePants.
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"I watch what the kids watch: 'Dora' and 'Go, Diego, Go' and I'm in love with the 'Dinosaur Train.' That's where I get my ideas," she said.
In addition, said Lopez, "Rita makes a series of alphabet puppets, one for each letter of the alphabet, and donates them to schools. The puppets are creative, colorful and fun for children, whether they are in a hospital, a day care, or in CPS custody. They are a light of sunshine to the kids."
She also gives puppets to strangers.
"Whoever comes to my door, if they have a kid, they get a puppet," Rago said.
Added Luna: "This lady is so full of energy and spunk. I want to be like her when I'm 90! She's going strong."
The project
Ben's Bells promote kindness and community. They were started in 2003 by the family of Ben Maré Packard as a way to honor the 2-year-old who died of croup a year earlier. Each week a person who betters Tucson is "belled." Go to www.bensbells.org/BellingForm to submit a name. Go to www.bensbells.org or call 628-2829 for information. Recipients also are featured on Friday's "The Morning Blend" on KGUN Channel 9.
Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.
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