The Door of Hope dolls were sold to raise money for the Door of Hope orphanage in Shanghai. Along with their other duties, the children of the "door of hope" orphanage made the clothing for the dolls which were hand carved from pear wood by local craftsman. Originally, the dolls were brought to the US for fund raising by the visiting and returning missionaries. Later, the sales were somewhat expanded by using an import company. The number of dolls produced was limited by the time and number of orphans available to make the clothing.