Nonprofit Spotlight: Mindful Littles

The Deed team sat down with Mindful Littles to talk about their important mission, and how companies can help drive more impact.

At Deed, our nonprofit partners are at the heart of everything we do. We recently had the honor of speaking with Tanuka Gordon, Founder and CEO of Mindful Littles, to learn about the organization’s inspiring journey and how our collaboration is helping amplify their impact.

Mindful Littles is on a mission to cultivate compassion in children as a core life skill. By blending education, compassion research, and technology, they’re creating meaningful change for young people and their communities. One of their key initiatives, Mindful Service Learning, combines hands-on service projects with educational environments—bridging compassion and learning in powerful ways.

In our conversation, Tanuka shared how Mindful Littles has evolved since its founding in 2016, including how its innovative programs have reached communities across the U.S. She also reflected on the role Deed has played as a supportive partner throughout their growth.

Read on to hear directly from Tanuka Gordon about the mission behind Mindful Littles—and how working with Deed is helping them scale compassion and impact.

How did Mindful Littles come to be?

“This year’s Mental Health Awareness Month theme—turning awareness into action—really resonates with me because it reflects exactly why I started Mindful Littles eight years ago.

In 2016, while working in tech product management, I was searching for ways to volunteer with my two young daughters. I very quickly became aware of the barriers we faced in making service not just a one-and-done activity, but a repeatable, engaging habit for young children and their families. It was stressful and often impractical for young, working families to take part in traditional volunteer opportunities like food banks or packing events. Nonprofits, while focused on important social issues like hunger, weren’t equipped to meaningfully engage young kids.

Most importantly, we were missing a big educational opportunity for children to mindfully connect with complex social issues—such as hunger—and engage in real-world service in age-appropriate ways. And yet, there is so much research behind the powerful benefits of service and how critical it is to teach healthy habits to young children for lasting, lifelong outcomes. I decided to take action—driven by a desire to make compassion a habit for my family and local community—and the idea of Mindful Service Learning was born. If service was so difficult for young families to regularly practice, why not remove those barriers and reimagine how service could be done—giving young children and the grownups a chance to regularly turn compassion into action?

After the first Mindful Service Learning event in my backyard, Mindful Littles quickly took root in our local school community, and the ripple effect kept going. I realized we had the potential to create something truly transformational—not just for youth mental health, but for community well-being as a whole. That was the beginning of Mindful Littles.”

How has your organization changed since it was originally founded? 

“Since we founded Mindful Littles, our mission has been to empower children of all ages to lead with compassion—for themselves and their communities. While our core purpose hasn’t changed, the way we deliver on it has evolved to help us reach more students.

There’s extensive research supporting the benefits of compassion, from neuroscience to social impact. We believe that consistent practice—not perfection—helps children build that compassion muscle. Recognizing the many pressures schools face—limited funding, time, and resources—we’ve developed our own Mindful Service Learning curriculum, aligned with four core social issues and academic objectives.

In our first eight years, we’ve learned how to meet schools where they are, integrating Mindful Service Learning through classroom-based projects, after school programs, family engagement, teen leadership, and more. We have reached over 20,000 students, hosted more than 200 service learning events, and built a network of 40–50 community partners.

Now, as we look forward, we are excited to bring our expertise through a scalable coaching model to help school communities seamlessly integrate Mindful Service Learning into their everyday learning environments. By coaching school leaders—including educators, wellness counselors, and family liaisons—we provide them with the tools and skills to implement Mindful Service Learning in their own communities in long-term, sustainable ways.”

What more can you share about the work you have done with children in your focus communities? 

“We know storytelling is the most powerful way to connect children to social issues. Statistics about homelessness or food insecurity don’t engage kids—but real, human stories do. We invest time working closely with experts in the field to understand complex social issues and then apply our kid-storytelling magic to make the content accessible for the youngest and illuminating for the oldest.

We focus on four core social issues: food insecurity & nutrition, youth mental health, earth & animal care, and friendship & connection. Each one ties into our feel-good, do-good philosophy. For example, with food insecurity, we show how access to nutritious food affects how we feel and help children understand both their own needs and others’. Discussing real-world challenges helps destigmatize these issues by humanizing them through shared experiences.

Mental wellness is woven throughout all our work, but we also address it directly. We go beyond mindfulness by turning practices like breathwork into service—such as creating wellness kits for people affected by disasters.

With earth & animal care, we help children learn how to care for themselves and their surroundings while fostering a deeper appreciation for the environment. And through friendship & connection, we promote inclusion and empathy—whether through Buddy Benches, multicultural events, or programs for students with diverse abilities.

We’re also bridging the gap between academic and emotional learning. For example, meal assembly projects include math concepts like weighing and measuring. That’s why we continue to offer a standards-aligned curriculum that integrates service learning with core academics.”

How can someone best support your organization? How has Deed helped with support for your organization? 

“First of all, I just have to say how much I love Deed. You all have been incredible, and Christine Tringale in particular is so special to us. We met years ago at a service-oriented event and have stayed connected ever since. Christine has supported Mindful Littles through advisory work and has always been there for us—even as her work with Deed has grown.

Deed has played an amazing role in supporting our organization—not just by helping us fundraise during key campaign seasons, but also by connecting us to corporate partners who believe in our mission. That kind of support is essential as we move into our next phase of growth. We're focused on scaling our impact by expanding our curriculum and coaching model, and that requires capital.

There are several meaningful ways individuals and companies can support Mindful Littles. Donations through Deed are a huge help—especially if they can be set up with a corporate match. Right now, we have an active fundraising campaign for Mental Health Awareness Month, where folks can make a donation to help us support School Wellness Centers through our services. Corporate sponsorships are also incredibly valuable—companies can sponsor specific schools or districts and help bring our programs to their own local communities.

Volunteer support is just as important. We’re always looking for new advisors and board members who are passionate about education. Even small efforts—like Deed’s uplifting notes campaign—go a long way. Every bit of support matters and helps us build awareness and momentum as we grow.”

Are there any future initiatives you would like to highlight?

“One of the key initiatives we’re focused on moving forward is amplifying the nutrition components of our food insecurity curriculum—particularly for schools and children. We’re working on differentiating the curriculum for various grade levels and continuing to build it out to make it even more impactful. We’re excited to involve people who are passionate about food security and nutrition in helping with this work.

In addition, youth mental health will continue to be a major focus for us. We're always looking for ways to expand and deepen our impact in this area, as it’s such a critical issue for children today. We welcome those interested in supporting this work to get involved as well.”

Where can people learn more about the causes supported by your organization? 

“Our website, mindfullittles.org, is the best place to learn about the causes we support and the heart of what we do. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @mindfullittles. For anyone interested in bringing our program to their local school community, feel free to contact us at info@mindfullittles.org.”

Mindful Littles is making a significant impact by fostering compassion in children and empowering them to take action in their communities. Their innovative programs address pressing issues like food insecurity, youth mental health, and building meaningful connections. Through their partnership with Deed, Mindful Littles has gained vital support in fundraising, corporate partnerships, and reaching a wider audience.

If you’re inspired by their mission and the change they’re creating, there are plenty of ways to get involved. We encourage you to visit their Deed profile to contribute, volunteer, or share their work with others to help amplify their impact. You can also check out their fundraiser for Mental Health Awareness Month here.