LEGO on the Go distributes lightweight fabric drawstring bags filled with LEGOs to kids in homeless or domestic abuse shelters.

How we find LEGO donations: We gather most of our bricks through word-of-mouth or social media. We also partner with a sponsor who allows us to put a donation box in the lobby of his business.

Where our bags come from: Our bags were designed and refined by a parent and a mentor. They are designed to be lightweight and portable: important qualities if you move often. LEGOs encourage open-ended play with no batteries and are good for building spatial relations and other STEM skills. Our bags are sewn by students & parents from our team.

Funding: This program is very inexpensive to run. We won a $100 donation from Capital One at RVA MakerFest 2017. Parents have donated other materials. We invested a little money from our outreach budget.

Distribution: We email shelters in the area, describe the bags and ask if they would like a donation. Local shelters have been very receptive and excited to receive them.

Filling the bags: Whenever students have some downtime at our build site, they are encouraged to go fill a bag or two. They try to put in a couple minifigs and an even number of wheels, if any, with other LEGO pieces. During our recent FLL tournament, our students worked with FLL kids to help us fill the bags and talked to them about the importance of meaningful outreach.