little Lola & tots

little Lola & tots is a cultural and educational playspace located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. We provide open play, enrichment classes, after-school programming, and parenting workshops for families within our community. We believe that through early education and cultural exploration, we can create a world that is more accepting and tolerant of differences in one another. Therefore, it is through a cultural lens that we create and offer programming to our community.

Over the last 3 months, the world has dramatically changed due to the fast transmission and implications of COVID-19. We were forced to shut our doors! Although, we are not bringing in any revenue, we must still cover our overhead expenses to survive. As we navigate remote learning and plans of reopening, we see bright times ahead for our little business. However, we need all the help we can get to realizing our vision and securing our future.  

little Lola & tots was started by first-generation Latina sisters, Natalie and Jessenia Rios. Passionate about education, we saw the need for early childhood educational programming in the community of Bedford-Stuyvesant. We are proud to say that we were the first playspace to open in Bedford-Stuyvesant as there were limited options in the world of early education for families in the neighborhood. As New Yorkers, born and raised, we have seen the effects of gentrification on communities of color. Thus, it has been an empowering experience, as minority entrepreneurs, to serve the community of Bedford-Stuyvesant, a super-fast gentrifying neighborhood. Our community has inspired us daily and our aim is simply to inspire it back!