Why Made for More?

Long before children start thinking seriously about careers or adulthood, they're forming beliefs about themselves and their place in the world.

They're noticing what adults celebrate. They pick up on ideas about success, money and power. They're beginning to understand what they're good at, what they'll become and whether they have something meaningful to offer the world.

Research from Harvard University's Making Caring Common Project found that most young people believe adults value achievement more highly than caring for others. Not necessarily because parents believe this, but because children learn from what they repeatedly see, hear and experience.

This made us stop and think.

At the same time, we know intuitively (and this is supported by heaps of research!) that feeling useful, connected and able to contribute to something beyond yourself is closely linked to greater wellbeing, mental health and resilience and overall quality of life.

So if these ideas matter so much, why do we leave them to chance?

Why aren't there more opportunities for children to explore what it means to care, contribute and see themselves as active participants in the world around them?

Made for More exists to address that gap.

We believe children become the stories they tell themselves about who they are. Through thoughtful products and experiences, we want to help them grow up believing they have something valuable to offer, and that even the smallest actions can make the world a better place.

A note from our Founder

Hello! I’m Carly James, an American living and working in Brisbane with my Aussie husband and (cheeky) 2-year-old daughter.

I’ve spent over a decade working across international development, philanthropy and impact measurement, and I’ve always been drawn to one core idea: that people have an incredible capacity to be a force for good in the world.

More recently, as I've become a mother myself, I’ve started wondering how that mindset takes shape early on. How do children come to see themselves not just as individuals, but as people who can contribute, care, and have an impact in the world?