Orphans Live In Her House of Cards

Seven-Year-Old Isabelle Redford's Artwork Helped Children in Haiti; Another Building is in the Works for Malawi

(CBS)  A Kansas girl has made a house out of cards -- sort of.

Isabelle Redford didn't literally build the house of cards, but her greeting cards helped make the fragile idea of helping orphans in Haiti become a solid reality.

Two years ago, Isabelle heard a story from her mother about twin girls in Haiti whose mother had died during childbirth. Isabelle decided immediately she wanted to help.

Interested in art, the 5-year-old decided to make cards and sell them at garage sales and to friends and family to raise money for the cause.

The effort took off, and now Isabelle’s cards are sold through the Global Orphan Project, a charity that builds and runs orphanages around the world.

Now seven years old, Isabelle said on "Early Show" Tuesday, she thought the children in Haiti really did need a house.

"I just wanted to make a difference because they did need help," she told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith.

Karen Redford, Isabelle’s mother, said the idea was all Isabelle’s.

"She wanted to raise money," Karen said. "...We started brainstorming and she came up with the idea to draw. She loves to do art, so we came up with the idea to draw cards."

Karen told Smith the greeting card sales just took off among friends and family, and then Isabelle began receiving donations from people she didn’t even know.

"She's got a huge heart so for me sitting back and watching her, I see it all just coming together," Karen said, "and so I feel like it's getting ready to explode. I feel like this is just the beginning."

The $5,000 Isabelle raised did build a new home for orphans -- and she got to see it in Haiti.

"It was really amazing," Isabelle told Smith. "I loved it. I was happy that someone had gotten a home."

Now Isabelle is working to open another orphanage in Malawi, Africa.

Michael Fox, of the Global Orphan Project, said they’d envisioned bringing people from many walks of life together, but not a 7-year-old.

Fox said, "You just can’t thwart the enthusiasm of someone like this who wants to get involved and make a difference."

[cwolfeks]

I just returned from Malawi where Isabelle will build her next home. The orphan village is called Pothawira. It will serve 320 children with 32 homes, a medical facilty, a school and much more. Construction on the first homes will begin in a few months. It is exciting and humbling to see how people all over the world are coming together to support The Global Orphan Project. By the way, her mom is Kelly, not Karen.

[mswolfestock]

What a sweet little kid! Goes to show that you are never too young to care about others. This speaks volumes RE: good parenting resulting in great kids.