This BC Group Reduces, Reuses and Regifts Lego

Tired of stepping barefoot on small plastic bricks? Pulled one too many little yellow people out of your pet’s mouth?

Are you ready to leggo your Lego collection?

The MimeX Social Society will clean and organize your unwanted Lego and turn it into kits to give to cash-strapped youth and seniors’ organizations.

MimeX, a youth-led society based in the Lower Mainland previously known for a mix of online and in-person food, art and music festivals, put out a call this summer that they were seeking used Lego and new or gently used art supply donations.

Society co-founder Elaine Han and member Simon Wang, who came up with the idea for the drive, note the benefits of creative play and artistic expression for both young adults and seniors.

But as any parent on a budget knows, Lego is not cheap. Growing up, Wang couldn’t have every Lego set he desired. It made him think about other young people who can’t afford Lego, especially those experiencing homelessness or living in poverty.

“So we were thinking donating these would be good, especially now. I also have a lot of Lego from the past just lying around,” he said.

Using money MimeX Social Society raised through Krispy Kreme fundraisers, Han and Wang printed off door hangers and posters on cardboard boxes for community and art centres with information on how to donate both Lego and art supplies.

Some donors simply left donations in the boxes. Others contacted MimeX with a time and address where they would leave their donations outside. Han and Wang used transit to collect donations.

As now-second-year students at the University of British Columbia, their U-Passes helped keep costs down.

After they’d secured donations, Han and Wang located seniors’ and youth organizations and called them up to see if they’d benefit from free art and Lego supplies.

Cleaning, sorting and repacking the kits was even more time-intensive. While some donations consisted of complete Lego sets, others were more of a smorgasbord.

Han and Wang spent days in their parents’ basements, soaking the Lego in soapy water, sorting the pieces by colour and assembling them into pre-existing sets or sets they made up.

Altogether, MimeX had received about $1,000 worth of Lego and art supplies when they spoke to The Tyee in late August. They’ve distributed 20 donated art supply packs and Lego kits to date.

Outside of their MimeX duties, both Han and Wang volunteer at seniors’ homes in their communities. Han thought that seniors, especially those experiencing cognitive decline, could benefit from playing with Lego, too.

Seniors’ homes such as Hawthorne Seniors Care Community agree.

“The gently used art supplies and Lego from MimeX society is appreciated as many residents in our long-term care setting benefit from engaging with a variety of materials,” Kendra Cumiskey, a recreation therapist at Hawthorne, told The Tyee via email.

Organizations such as Covenant House Vancouver were more interested in art supplies like paints, coloured pencils and canvases.

“We have a large variety of art supplies that we gathered from our community, including canvases, paintbrushes, paints, coloured crayons and a lot of different varieties of art supplies, and we package them into different sets that we donate,” Han said.

Art supplies can help foster community and combat loneliness in seniors’ homes, Han said, as they allow residents to participate in craft-making events together.

“These materials offer creative outlets that engage both the hands and minds of our residents, encouraging socialization, cognitive stimulation and even some playful competition,” Nellmarie Uludag, recreation and leisure program lead at Seton Villa Retirement Centre in Burnaby, told The Tyee via email. Seton Villa received a donation of art supplies from MimeX.

“For many of our seniors, engaging in arts and crafts brings back fond memories of hobbies they used to enjoy. These donations also give residents a sense of purpose, whether through individual projects or shared moments with others,” Uludag said.

If you live in the Lower Mainland and have Lego or art supplies you want to donate, you can contact MimeX Social Society Ma via email.