2016 marks another tremendous year for Creations for Charity as we were able to donate Lego in 9 locations over the world. With the help of the Lego fan community, we sold over 100 custom creations raised $13,877 and purchased numerous Lego sets for underprivileged children. When I see photos of the Lego donations each year knowing that many children will be happier during the holidays, I consider it one of the greatest gifts I receive. It is my motivation to organize the fundraiser year after year.
This holiday season has been busy for many of us, and I am always grateful for everyone involved including the donors who spend time crafting unique creations for the store, the buyers who support us through their purchases and our coordinators who purchase Lego sets and donate them to the kids. When I organized the first Creations for Charity fundraiser in 2009, I was a college senior with plenty of spare time. Now my free time is scarce as I go through training as a resident physician in neurology. Between taking 28-hour calls and working through both Thanksgiving and Christmas, I relied heavily on our coordinators this year to manage as much of the fundraiser as they can, and they delivered beautiful results. I couldn’t have asked for a better present this year than seeing all the donation photos on Christmas Day.
We also reached an important milestone this year when we became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization just this month (Employer ID Number 81-3162510). This means that our future purchases will be exempt from income tax in the US and our US donors will also be able to make tax-deductible contributions to our charity. With these privileges we look forward to acquiring even more Lego sets for future donations!
Over the years Creations for Charity has become the Lego fan community’s annual tradition of giving back during the holiday season. It is a tradition that is too good to stop. Going forward, I plan to continue the fundraiser and expand to new areas of distribution. We welcome suggestions for improvement and hearing from individuals interested in offering their help or expertise. Happy holidays everyone and I hope you’ll join us (again) in 2017!