Armaan, Karina and Gia Gupta (standing) travelled to India in 2020 to visit a school they had connected with as part of Little Mentors

A global outreach program was born on a white board in a Cherry Hill kitchen. 

Triplets Armaan, Gia and Karina Gupta, 18, are the co-founders of Little Mentors, a youth-driven initiative that brings young people together around the world. The triplets hope that exposing young people to other cultures will help bring about a mutual understanding of others. They rely on storytelling and interactive events to share diverse perspectives.

“We’d always go to my neighbor’s house when we were younger,” says Gia, co-president and co-founder of Little Mentors. “We’d have conversations with them and our parents about their lives.” One of those conversations sparked the idea for Little Mentors.

“My dad is an immigrant from India, and he told us that when he was younger, he wished he had the opportunity to speak to kids from the United States,” Gia says. 

In the beginning, it was a pretty simple idea from the then-middle-schoolers. Their family abroad helped the triplets set up video calls with schools in India. Gia, Arman and Karina invited their friends. 

“Growing up in the United States, it was really cool to feel a stronger connection with our culture and bridge divides with a part of the world we hadn’t been exposed to yet,” says Gia. “That’s how it all started – as a way to create mutual connections between people from diverse backgrounds.” 

Since then, Little Mentors has reached over 100,000 people across seven countries and raised more than $250,000 to support its programming and philanthropic efforts. The initiative has also collaborated with South Jersey nonprofits to engage youth and communities in impactful projects.

Little Mentors’ programming has spanned everything from virtual cultural immersion galleries to international educational events. The organization also hosts big adventures – like their trip to an orphanage in Costa Rica, where participants delivered school supplies and built connections with local students.

“Being from South Jersey, we can be very secluded from different perspectives, but we’ve been able to create programming that brings kids together from all around the world, and it breaks the echo chamber,” says Gia. “These programs help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to adapt to the role of global citizen instead of just staying in their own cultural bubble.” 

As the program gained momentum, it grew beyond its initial mission, and the triplets began incorporating their unique interests into the organization’s projects. Little Mentors has hosted coding workshops with the Cherry Hill Public Library, anti-racism multimedia projects in collaboration with the NJ governor’s office, and musical therapy sessions for children at the Voorhees Pediatric Center. 

One notable project is the “Teddy Talks” series, which brought accomplished professionals and community role models into conversations with young people.  

“I had just read the book, ‘Life is what you make it’ by Peter Buffett,” says Gia. “I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to talk to the author of this book, because so often young people are not the target audience for conversations with important leaders. We hear leaders talking about what Gen Z or Gen Alpha needs or is looking for, but we’re not always included in the conversation.” 

Teddy Talks: Little Mentors x Mark Cuban “Empowering the leaders of tomorrow with the leaders of today”

She sent a cold email to Buffett, and to their surprise, he responded. Since then, “Teddy Talks” has featured Mark Cuban, Anne Wojcicki, Holocaust survivor Alice Sondike.

“The coolest opportunities we’ve had are simply because we asked for them,” she says. “They happened through cold emails or Instagram DMs. We learned early on that if you want something, sometimes all you have to do is ask. There are so many people in the world willing to help you.”

Now freshmen at the University of Pennsylvania, the triplets are navigating the balance between their studies and their commitment to Little Mentors. While the pace of the organization has slowed, the mission remains a priority.

“Little Mentors started with such a specific niche when we were so young, and we’ve had to learn that it’s ok to switch or expand your mission later on,” she says. “We’re always looking for new projects to be involved in and new interviews with Teddy Talks, because it’s something we’re all passionate about.”