10-year-old with entrepreneurial spirit gives back to Indy nursing home during holidays
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A young entrepreneur in Indianapolis is helping to solve a pandemic problem while proving someone small can make a big difference.
At 10-years-old Leni Lee is the founder of Band Together. A small business making beaded face bands to help keep face masks from falling off.
“I thought of the idea while I was in ice skating. My mask would always fall off and onto the ground and I would have to get a new one,” said Lee who noticed friends of hers were having similar problems in their activities and in school.
Lee took to her favorite bead kit, started to make an extra long bands and connected it to her mask. The entrepreneur has made about 150 bands in the last few months and sells them on her dad’s Facebook page.
“She’s using the creativity that she has and we are super proud of her,” said Harold Lee.
Band Together bands sell for $5 for two colors and $7 for three colors and come in two sizes. They can be purchased through Venmo @ Band Together.
The plan now is to save money for business school and to someday bring her entrepreneurial spirit to France.
“I want to go to culinary school and open a pastry shop,” said the younger Lee.
In the meantime Leni and her family want to give back to their community for the holidays in a year filled with hardship for so many people.
“Our family is reading an advent book and in the book it shares the importance of giving to people in need and so our family made a list of things we would do to help, and one thing on the list is a nursing home because they don’t get visited as much,” said Lee.
Being creative and using our time at home to help others is a message Dad says we could all use.
“Now is a great season to not just think about folks that are in need and less fortunate but to step in and contribute as much as you can, even a small amount,” said Harold.
Leni has already donated around 30 bands to the American Village nursing home in Broad Ripple. In an email the nursing home said they are grateful for all the wonderful support they have received from the community.
As for Lee she says she’s doing her part. “It makes me feel really happy to know that I am helping people that don’t have the resources I have,” she added.