JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Call it "Joy to the Girls."
Joy Casino is 90 years young, a WWII veteran, married since 1947 to Danny Casino, also a WWII vet. She has taken it upon herself to make T-shirt dresses for girls in Third World countries who don't have the means or access to the kind of clothing young girls love to wear.
"Well, last year the church (adopted) the theme spread your wings, and I made 15 (shirts) for everybody going down to this conference with butterflies on it," Casino said. "And then someone said, boy that's a neat idea for the girls. I started looking around and and started doing it and went from making 15 to going on 500."
Casino has now made hundreds of dresses and given them to Church congregants in Jacksonville Beach to personally take on mission trips to hand out.
"I make them, I think of the child that might be wearing them and I just blessed that child. And sort of my criteria is that I will not make one that I would not put on one of my three daughters when they were little," Casino said.
"Ms. Joy" is quite spry and has quite the sense of humor. She told News4Jax she only has one good eye and has to be careful when she sews. As for how long she plans to keep on doing this, she has a plan.
"'Till my birthday in October; but then, who knows!"
For her efforts, News4Jax names Joy Casino our "Positively Jax" honoree for June.