Teen Creates LEGO Charity To Collect & Wash Old Bricks!

Charlie Jeffers has been playing with LEGO since he was 4 or 5 and credits one of the most famous of all toys for helping him learn math and engineering concepts, and how to be focused, flexible, and creative.

It occurred to him that many kids don’t have access to play tools like LEGO, and their emotional and cognitive development suffers as a result.

The senior at Redwood High School in Marin County, California, realized that by getting LEGO into the hands of kids who can’t afford the name-brand toys, he can also avoid them ending up in landfills.

He launched Pass the Bricks in 2020 to address both of these issues. He and his volunteer-based team repurpose used LEGO bricks into new original sets for kids in marginalized communities who don’t know about them or can’t afford them.

Pass the Bricks has an open model program template with four key steps: collect used LEGO bricks, sanitize and sort them, create new sets with the used bricks, and deliver the sets to kids in marginalized communities.

The team distributes the sets to kids in need directly or through partnerships with 11 various nonprofit organizations.