Kensington resident building bright futures through LEGO charity

“The sky’s the limit” when it comes to local Kensington resident Chin Quah’s passion project, Bricks2Change; a LEGO Builders Club based in Malaysia that aims to recycle unwanted LEGO in support of children’s learning and development.

Describing himself as an avid “AFOL” (adult fan of LEGO), Mr Quah came up with the idea to establish his own LEGO Builders Club charity after COVID lockdown reignited his love of the toy.

“Like many of us, we pick something up when we’re very young and we really enjoy it, and then you lose touch and forget about it when you grow up,” Mr Quah said.

“I acquired this passion again because I was looking for stimulation and socialisation during the lockdown, but then I discovered it’s a little more interesting than just a plastic toy.”

In a survey Mr Quah ran last year through the Kensington Good Karma Network Facebook page, he discovered the educational benefits that LEGO can have on developing children’s social skills, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) learning and self-confidence.

The results inspired him to raise more than $6000 through GoFundMe to buy around 56 LEGO sets, which he donated to his former primary school in Malaysia.

“It was a really joyful experience for me, and triggered my question to the school, ‘what can I do next?’,” Mr Quah told North West City News. 

They were willing to assign a teacher to help me develop a curriculum and lesson plan, and deliver LEGO activities that encourage collaboration, sharing of ideas, and creativity.

With the LEGO bricks donated through Bricks2Change, Mr Quah will design various LEGO creations accompanied by a step-by-step building guide for the children to follow.

For interested donors that may not have any spare LEGO, Mr Quah has created a GoFundMe page to buy second-hand LEGO, with his current target being $1500.

“It’s an expensive toy, it’s not something that everyone has access to,” he said.

“A key focus for me is to not buy new LEGO and create more waste, but to recycle unwanted goods so it’s loved again.”

While Bricks2Change is still in its early stages of development, Mr Quah hopes that residents will get involved through either financial or LEGO brick donations, which can be arranged for pick-up by contacting him directly via the GoFundMe page.

“Everyone has a brother or sister or niece or nephew that plays with LEGO, it’s very relatable,” he said.

“This has taken me a long time, and I’ve really put my heart and soul into it – hopefully some community support will keep it progressing.” •