3 Cheers: Little Bags Big Impact
WYNNEWOOD, Pa. (CBS) -- A Wynnewood girl created her own sustainable company, and she's spreading her love of reading at the same time. Anna Welsh is only 14 years old but since 2016, she has had her own business.
"My business is Little Bags Big Impact, and I hand-make bags," she said.
Each of Welsh's bags are made out of locally repurposed fabrics that were headed for a landfill.
"One of my sewing teachers, she opened me up to this whole world of discarded fabric samples. I now have a network of interior designers," Welsh said.
In addition to running a sustainable company, Welsh is also making a social impact.
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"I donate 15% of the proceeds to Tree House Books," she said. "They are a literacy center in Philadelphia empowering education for underserved children."
Since the age of 12, Welsh has donated more than $5,000 and more than 2,000 individual books to Tree House Books through Little Bags Big Impact.
Her father Evan Welsh said she "wanted it to be local to her backyard, and interact with them face to face and see the impact she was creating. As her dad, I am extremely proud of Anna."
Welsh now has a collection of seven different bags from clutches to crossbodies. To date, she has been able to save over 2,500 pounds of fabric from landfills.
"Even just looking at the amount of the fabric and just be like, 'This would all be in a landfill, but now it is going to be turned into beautiful little bags,'" she said.
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Recently, Welsh was recognized as SustainPHL's social impact award recipient.
"Anna's such an inspiring young woman," Chairman and founder Julie Hancher said. "She proves that you don't have to be a certain age or gender. You can make a difference."
We say 3 Cheers to Anna Welsh as her little bags continue to make a big impact.
"It's validation," she said. "What I'm doing can actually make a difference."
To find out more, go to https://littlebagsbigimpact.com