Little Loving Hands creator teaches children it’s better to give than to receive.
When her two young girls began to take the term “being a princess” too far, mom Lily Yeh wanted to show them how blessed they were and teach them how important it is to help others and give back. She looked in the community for hands-on volunteer opportunities, but due to their ages (3 and 5) the selection was limited.
“That is why I created Little Loving Hands,” Yeh says. “I knew many other parents wanted to engage their children with volunteering early but didn’t know how.”
Yeh contacted organizations and found out what they needed. She put together craft kits for children to make, along with literature and material that is appropriate to teach kids about who, how and why they are helping. Yeh started with a few small events but found it hard to work around parents’ schedules. She started packaging the kits and making them available for people to work on their own schedule, allowing them to have a personal and meaningful experience with their children. This soon led to what Loving Little Hands is today, a monthly subscription box service which allows children to create a craft and return it using a prepaid envelope, and the craft gives back to an organization in need.
We sat down with Yeh to chat about Little Loving Hands and find out more about the future of this innovative company.
What do you want children to get out of each monthly project?
I want every kit to be an experience for the families. For the child, it’s a little time out of every month for them to be hands-on involved in giving back. They get such pride out of knowing they can make an impact. We are working on doing many things to make this an on-going learning experience such as providing a letter of appreciation to the child from the spotlighted organization when we receive their craft.
How about its impact on parents?
For the parent, Little Loving Hands supplies them with all the material they need to help guide their children in the softer skills of empathy and kindness. There are so many toys out there that are educational, but they all focus on more traditional subjects like math and science. Although [those are] important, we focus on skills that will help shape a child’s character.
Empathy is critical for children to learn at an early age. A recent study was done at Harvard by an organization called Making Caring Common. About 80 percent of youth surveyed reported that their parents were more concerned with their achievements or happiness than whether they cared for others.
Tell us about your background prior to starting Little Loving Hands.
I have been in the corporate world for over 15 years working for large companies such as Blackboard, AOL and Monster Worldwide. I have held several vice president positions focused on strategy, programs and planning. I also have a strong background in product development and marketing. I got my MBA at The George Washington University and my bachelor’s from the University of Maryland, College Park.
How long have you lived in Northern Virginia?
I’ve been in the DMV area forever and moved to Northern Virginia back in 1996. I currently live in Vienna with my husband, Jeff, and two little girls.
Any special interests and hobbies?
Beyond helping organizations in need, I love to spend time with my family; eat, especially all the great restaurants in the area; watch football—go Colts!—and play poker.
What are some of the projects available and planned for Little Loving Hands?
During Halloween, we had a group of kids interact with the residents at Sunrise Senior Living. In our craft kits, the children made adorable ghost wreaths for the residents’ room doors and necklaces that they handed out. We’ve also created custom pillowcases that were handed out to The Children’s Inn at NIH, which the patients could use during their stay. For the holidays, we are making fun Search and Seek Activity bags—think I Spy—to again support The Children’s Inn. Each bag is uniquely created by our Little Loving Hands children and will be distributed as a gift to the patients of the Children’s Inn. For January, we are making adorable snowmen sock animals that will also serve as heating pads to be used for comforting children at staying at Ronald McDonald Houses. We are in talks with many national and local organizations and are eager to start a number of exciting and fun projects in 2016.
Are there any future plans for growth or expansion?
We want to continue to add and spotlight many local and national organizations. Our goal is to eventually have multiple options of organizations to support each month. Our goal is to also create a way that we can further connect the children with who they are helping in a private and secure manner where they can see the impact that they are making. We are committed as a company to also further invest in charitable contributions by donating a portion of our profits every year to a cause.
What is some of the feedback you’ve received so far?
From parents, from kids and from the charities, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We also always send an in-kind letter back to customers after we receive their crafts back. This can be used for tax deduction purposes or just to let their child know it was received and appreciated. Kids are born as caring beings, but we just don’t focus on it enough.
Find out more and start your subscription by visiting littlelovinghands.com.
Micaela Williamson is a co-author of local travel guide “Kid Trips Northern Virginia,” an extraordinary resource that provides descriptions, useful information and insider tips for hundreds of local destinations. Micaela is also an award-winning blogger who enjoys supporting area businesses and scouting out family-friendly venues with her two young sons.
Photo courtesy of Tiffany Brown, Mamaratzy Photography
