We want every child to experience the joy that is a LEGO set and fun that can be had from the bricks therein. The Giving Brick gifts complete LEGO sets sourced from previously loved and donated LEGO bricks to underprivileged kids in and around the foster care system in The United States. With the help of volunteers from local churches, Boy Scouts, schools, and other similar organizations we sort,
inventory, clean, and package complete LEGO sets based on official retail sets. We partner with local, regional, and national organizations who support and service kids in and around the foster care system. Through these partners we gift our sets based on age appropriateness to underprivileged kids during holidays and birthdays. LEGO is a wonderful toy that is in such abundance that every person on earth could have over 100 pieces, yet millions of kids never get to enjoy the creative play and joy it can offer; there is no system to recycle LEGO - to help people who loved their LEGO pay that love forward to kids who may otherwise never get the chance. Retail LEGO sets are expensive and kids from struggling families can't afford them. LEGO holds its value and secondary market prices are still out of reach for kids from poor homes. LEGO offers kids infinite and sustainable imaginative play; building LEGO can help foster critical spacial, 3D, and construction skills. LEGO can be anything a child can imagine yet it's worth keeps it out of reach of millions of kids who could greatly benefit from its design. LEGO is sold in sets not in random groups of pieces, this is because sets offer kids models to play with and build from. The instructions help foster LEGO construction principles that can lead to self-designed creative toy creations for years. Most underprivileged kids only ever get to build with LEGO from piles of random previously loved pieces in short-term group situations; places like hospitals and doctors' offices. While random LEGO pieces offer infinite possibilities, to the novice builder the instructions teach how to reach those possibilities. LEGO is targeted to boys - and girls - aged 8-15; this is the hardest demographic to fill during toy donation drives. Yet, because LEGO is a premium toy, not many sets are donated and toy drives do not accept used piles of LEGO. In 2011 LEGO sold 31 billion bricks worldwide, enough for every person on earth to have 4-6 pieces each. LEGO is currently more abundant that than any other toy; they produce more tires annually than all the car tire companies combined. Still, poor kids go without; as kids outgrow their collections the pieces often sit piled in boxes, unused and forgotten, perhaps waiting for a new generation of kids. LEGO is built to last from durable ABS plastic. This plastic is not accepted by most recycling centers; they sort it out and dispose of it in landfills. Second hand stores have a hard time selling bricks not packaged as LEGO model sets and without instructions. We provide a positive and charitable way for families to recycle LEGO and pay forward the joy of sustainable play. We also provide a valuable, durable, educational, and imaginative toy to children from neglected homes and caught up in scary situations.
