About Us

My name is Lorena Palmieri Wilson, I am the founder of Little Hands of Hope. Little Hands of Hope is a non-profit organization who’s idea came from a trip my daughter, Samantha, took to Argentina in 2009 to study for a semester at a local university.  Samantha joined a local organization of young adults that would spend their weekends building homes for very poor families that lived in the slums of Buenos Aires.  Seeing photos of these very poor and needy families and the sacrifice that these young people where making to provide shelter convinced me to do my part to help any way I could with the limited resources I have available.

 Having given it much thought, one night it occurred to me that a fundraising “Boutique” could be the means to gather resources for this cause.  The Boutique would consist of selling handmade items (aprons, candles, banners, pillows, and other handcrafted items) that could be made from materials we already have in our homes and it would also include nice decorative items that we no longer use.  We would sell these items at an affordable price at an annual Boutique event to raise funds to help those very poor families in Argentina.

 My close friends and family have joined in the effort and with their help and hard work we have held two annual Boutique events.  All of the funds resulting from the sales and donations at the Boutique events where sent to families in need and orphanages in Argentina to provide basic living necessities.

 In 2011 we have taken the next step and established a non-profit organization, Little Hands of Hope.  We are now working hand in hand with another non-profit organization, APAER, which connects charities with rural schools in Argentina that lack the basic necessities for the children.  The charities, such as ours, become a “sponsor” of the rural school, providing books, clothing, food, and other basic items.

 We are happy to announce that we have recently become “sponsors” of a rural school in northern Argentina.  The school consists of 128 children from kindergarten to 6^th grade.  All of the children are Tobas Indians.  The school is in great need.  The school does not have electricity and they rely on limited amount of light powered by solar panels.  Nor does the school have running water and must rely on a nearby well.  They do not have a library and are in need of basic reading books.  Perhaps the most important priority is providing regular meals for the children.  The school provides two meals per day for the children at a cost of 71 cents per child per day.  Most of the children rely on these meals as their primary source of nutrition.

 We are now all working hard in preparation of our next Boutique event, which will be held on December 3^rd from 4:00 pm – 8:00 p.m. at 1302 Yale Avenue, Salt Lake City.  We will have very unique handcrafted holiday gifts, beautiful donated items, refreshments, live music, and so much more!  This annual event will provide the funds needed to purchase food, clothing, and other basic needs for the children of the school we are sponsoring for a whole year.

 A little about myself: I was born and raised in Argentina and currently live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am a mother of three beautiful girls and one wonderful son, a wife to the most supportive husband for twenty one years now and a lifetime of joy to come. Besides raising my beautiful family. I devote all my time and energy creating and working to build this dream.

Please visit my personal blog: lorenapalmieri-wilson.blogspot.com

Thanks to my great friends Corina, Marina, and Tiffany who have helped me to make this possible by being by my side and supporting me with their talents and decisions. My heart is grateful towards my sister in laws, mother in law, my sister Sandra, my cousin Virginia, my two youngest daughters, and to all my great and wonderful friends and family that have been contributing so much with their talents, love, and support. I am specially grateful for my niece Victoria who has helped me from Argentina to establish everything there and to my amazing daughter Samantha who has givin me the inspiration to start my foundation and is now on the board of directors with me handling all our publicity and marketing. My greatest love goes towards my husband who has made this possible for me. He has helped and supported me from the start to build our non-profit organization and encourages me daily to stay motivated and continue to move forward. His love and support is truely endless and great. He is a wonderful husband, friend, and father.