Billings Boys & Girls Club Opens the LEGO Wall

The Billings Boys & Girls Club on Orchard Lane started the spring break last Friday afternoon with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the LEGO Wall.

Gabi Shaw started this project in mid-January to provide stimulating activity for kids and to reduce anxiety.  A kid's day can be really stressful, so some creativity with the hands gives the mind a needed break.

When the project started, Gabi had just a little box of LEGOs.  Then she talked about the Wall on Montana Talks with Aaron Flint, and he wrote about this special mission for the website.  Of course he teased BUILD THAT WALL!

And the response was tremendous.

I asked about how many Lego pieces were donated and gathered.  Their measure is in pounds.

250 Pounds!

My mind had to wrap around that figure.  If memory serves, a Lego set of a couple hundred pieces is only 4-6 ounces in weight.  So 250 pounds means thousands upon thousands of pieces.  The community donated $820 for LEGOs and they chipped in for containers.

Who sorted all these LEGOs?  The Shaw family with Gabi, Mom and Dad and sister Naomi.  The Marketing class at Skyview High School helped out with the campaign and participated in the sorting.

The Shaw family wholeheartedly thanks the Boys and Girls Club for their cooperation in the LEGO Wall on behalf of the kids who congregate there.

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The Wall

The Wall is actually a set of shelves with the Legos in convenient drawers or bins for easy removal.  If a youngster wants a particular piece, all they have to do is pull out the bin; they can even bring the whole bin to their table.  At the ribbon-cutting, the pieces were nicely color coordinated (hope they all know it won't stay that way).

The kids at the B&G Club will be responsible for picking up and putting away all the pieces at the end of the day.

What's Next?

Asked Gabi what her next project will be.  After her long, smiling pause, Dad chimed in, "We're recovering."