The donation should equal the weight of Legos from the Lego river, Jacob said, which features a variety of pieces that can replace missing ones or contribute to a new build.
“We want to make sure that families this holiday season have the things they need, whether that’s toys that they can get from us, or food and toiletries that they’re definitely going to need,” Jacob said. “Whatever we can do to help out we’re more than happy to do.”
Project Woman’s wish list includes items like dish soap, hand soap, shampoo, towels, paper towels, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste, basic dishes like cups and plates, razors, blankets, laundry detergent, bandages, cleaning wipes, hair brushes, brooms and dustpans, pots and pans, sponges and socks, Jacob said. Second Harvest Food Bank accepts nonperishable food items like canned soup and boxed pasta.
Brick Base will collect these items starting Friday through Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. If customers would like to donate money, they should give that directly to the organizations. Brick Base will have QR codes to do so and more information on their social media.
Jacob, a Lutheran pastor, is also putting together Lego packages to donate to Lutheran schools in Chicago for teachers and guidance counselors to use in the course of their work. Brick Base is accepting Lego donations, which will be sorted, cleaned and sanitized, then packaged to go to the schools. Anyone who wants to help sort bricks can do so.
Cleaning involves running the bricks through the washing machine in a special bag on the delicate cycle, Jacob said.
Collection will likely end a week before Christmas to allow enough time for arrival, Jacob said.
Brick Base will soon feature a life-size Santa Claus Lego, made from foam blocks and scaled up minifig pieces, Jacob said. The foam blocks were saved from the landfill and are shaped with a special saw and coated with plastic to give the Lego look.
“We have to make them out of foam because otherwise they would be so heavy no one could move them,” Jacob said. “Once it’s done, kids will be able to play with it like they do a regular minifig and move it around and pose it, or in this case, make it sit down so that they can sit on Santa’s lap.”
Lego Santa will listen to want children want for Christmas, and even if it’s not Legos that they want, that’s OK, Jacob said.
“They can tell giant Lego Santa that they want something else; he’ll be OK with that,” Jacob said.
Brick Base has hosted multiple “master builder quests,” where Jacob led kids in building challenges like a boat that floats, catapults to lay siege to a castle they also built and bridges to walk over that hold their weight with an opening underneath.
The store will be open Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Normal hours are 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Monday. Any changes will be on Brick Base’s Facebook page and Google.
“We’ve been so thankful for the support we’ve gotten from people around town, and so we just want to give back,” Jacob said.
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