Anything But Small

A story about one of KidWorks’ youngest donors

Legos are small. Legos really hurt when you step on them with bare feet. But Legos may help change the world. Alex Triestman, 13, has decided to change the world, one Lego brick at a time.

When Alex was 6 years old, he started noticing that Lego kits came with ‘extra parts’, which nearly added up to a functional package by themselves. And that started him thinking… he realized that if he combined a few of the ‘extra parts’ packages with some spare Legos, he would have a complete small package – and, better yet, he could share it!

Alex germinated this for a while and five years later, when he turned 11, he decided to create a non-profit, Brickshare. He wanted to gift Legos to children who could not otherwise afford these wonderful little toys.

Alex just needed to figure out how to package the Legos for distribution – and once he did, the Brickbot was born! He put out the call to collect the ‘extra bits’, the leftovers, and gently used Legos from friends, family, neighbors, and school mates. While he did this, Joanie, Alex’s mother, helped him with an online search for worthy local non-profit serving children in need. Joanie’s search led her to KidWorks!

With the start of the new school year just a few weeks away, Alex realized he could pair Legos with school supplies. So, with his mother’s help he started a GoFundMe page to purchase the supplies for KidWorks.

Alex organized ‘stuffing parties’ that created over 250 Brickbots and school supply packages for distribution. KidWorks has been fortunate to be the recipient of Alex’s and Brickshare’s generosity. We are so pleased to have met this extraordinary young man and gotten to know him.

Alex is still passionately raising Legos and funds to make sure that Legos get to the homes of boys and girls who perhaps might not have access to this expensive and educational toy.

Brickshare helps military children who have parents that are deployed abroad, low-income children and orphans, or children abroad who could not afford the cost of a Lego set.

To learn more, check out his website at www.brickshare.biz.