When an upcoming naval deployment coincided with their firstborn’s due date, Matthew and Jaclyn Miller asked themselves a very important question: how can we stay connected?
With Matthew preparing to leave on the USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2020, Jaclyn understood that familiarity with Matthew’s voice would be critical to foster connection with their newborn son, Mason.
“I used to be a pediatric audiologist before this career,” said Jaclyn, now an audiologist for active-duty Marines, sailors and DOD personnel. “We know there’s that critical period where communication — speaking, talking, language development — that all happens so early on, a lot of it before age 5.”
With this knowledge, she suggested their family use recordable books. Though the deployment was longer than planned (the infamous “COVID cruise,” Matthew joked), he was able to read to Mason every night. When Matthew came home, his son recognized him immediately because it was the voice he knew.
Creating a mission
With thousands of service members separated from their families every year due to training, TDY, schools or deployments, the Millers’ initial question laid the foundation for what would become a company, mission and connection piece for helping other families. They founded UMBO Innovations and created the recordable My Hero™ doll, a customizable tool that houses audio recorders to allow far-away loved ones to continue with story time.
In addition to easing separation with a familiar voice, the dolls actually look like mommy or daddy, featuring accurate uniforms and identifiable patches, handmade and detailed down to the last stitch.
“This looks like and feels like an actual military uniform,” Matthew explained as he held up a doll. “It’s not the same pattern (because it’s copyrighted), but if I put [the doll] next to [the uniform], you’d be like, ‘Yeah, that’s good!’ And even the pocket cuts are rounded just like on a real Navy uniform. In the Navy, you have to know who’s on the ladder behind you, so we put the name tag above the pocket, just like in the Navy.
“Our dolls are going to help with keeping that connection while you’re away. I mean, it’s not perfect, but it’s something that helps, and I think that’s important.”
Making a difference
UMBO also offers a variety of children’s books as resources in the military community, and a portion of every sale from the My Hero bookstore provides military children with prescription glasses not covered by insurance.
Bundled with a recording device, parents can record books such as “The ABCs of PCS” by military spouses Christina Boensel, Shannon Felgar and Kristen Benslay. Matthew and Mason even collaborated to write “Benny Backwards,” a book where the protagonist does everything backward. Not only is it a heartwarming story about doing things your own way, all proceeds from the book’s sales go toward helping 3-year-old Cannon Pavlus, the son of a close friend. In 2024, Cannon was diagnosed with high-risk, Stage 4 metastatic neuroblastoma, and Matthew wanted to help their family in a tangible way.
“This is something that goes toward a bigger thing, which is helping other families, helping people, connecting … it all ties together. It’s about doing good,” Matthew said.
As their website states: “Our model is simple. Every purchase should lead to giving something back. Whether it is a doll that brings comfort to a child missing their parent, a book that connects families, or glasses that help a military child see the world more clearly, we are dedicated to making a real difference.”
“What we’re passionate about is the seat at the table,” Matthew said. “… [And] being able to make a difference.”
Learn more about My Hero dolls at the UMBO Books website.
