At first glance, Carter Rowen is your typical seven year old boy who enjoys climbing trees, a good game of basketball, followed by a rousing game of Pokemon on his DS. But after spending some time with this 2nd grader at Iowa Christian Academy, you quickly see he has a heart for helping people, particularly the homeless.
It isn’t unusual for Carter to give his Valentine’s Day gift of money from Grammy to mom and say “let’s buy some food for the homeless” or want to give everything away in the kitchen pantry to the local food shelter. So, after learning that Carter wanted a way to make money to buy the homeless an “apartment building where they could come and go if they needed a place to live for free”, his mom Cheryl decided she’d better make good on one of his ideas and see it to “fruition”. And thus began CircleSoapTM.
Quite by accident, Carter was playing with a bar of soap in the bathroom one morning, making a hole in the center. Mom’s first reaction was a maternal “stop ruining the soap, Carter”! But after a day or two, mom found that the soap was easier for Carter’s two year old sister, Rebecca, to hold onto and Carter’s four year old sister, Ella, played with it while “magically” washing her hands all by herself. Mom and dad also preferred it as it didn’t slip out of their hands and swirl around in the sink!
So, the family decided to make a soap that was about ½ the size of a regular bar of soap and put a hole or “Circle” in the middle for kids to hold on to. They also developed ‘6 Little Hands, LLC’, a family business umbrella to sell the soap. Carter and his two younger sisters make up the six hands, each doing their part to produce the finished product.
While 6 Little Hands, LLC is a for-profit business, the primary use of the money raised through the sale of CircleSoapTM will go toward helping people in need. While no specific charity has been identified, 6 Little Hands would like to seek ‘real people’, whose lives could be blessed through their work. Carter’s parents also hope to use this as a tool to teach the kids about being good stewards of their money, business operations, and community service.
CircleSoapTM comes in a variety of shapes, including yellow, blue, pink or green “chicks”, trains for boys, purses for girls, and soccer balls, as well as holiday themed soaps like bunnies and Easter eggs – just to name a few. The family will also try to accommodate any custom orders they receive.
If you are interested in purchasing CircleSoapTM, you can call 6 Little Hands directly, at 515.276.7744 or email them at
6littlehands@gmail.com. Please include “order soap” in the subject heading. CircleSoapTM may also be found at these participating retailers: Simply for Giggles (W. Glen and East Village stores), Anna Jo’s in Grimes and Iowa Favorites at Jordan Creek Mall.
