NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Little bricks just seem to click for Russ Cassevah.
That’s been his nationwide mission built by goodwill and Lego. Cassevah, a father and Lego enthusiast runs the non-profit Little Bricks Charity, and, on a gloomy Monday, he provided a bright spot by delivering about 250 sets of Lego to the patients at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital.
“I quit my job, I cashed out my retirement and I put it all in so I can travel the nation delivering Lego sets to children’s hospitals in efforts of raising mental health of kids when they really need it,” Cassevah said.
Aside from his rainbow-colored mohawk, Cassevah stands out in other unique ways in the Lego world.
“I’m a three-time Guinness Book of World Records holder for walking across Lego barefoot,” he said.
That notoriety has garnered a faithful following on social media – which helps drive the funding to buy and then donate all the Lego sets to kids in hospitals.
“80 percent of what we get right now comes from my Tik Tok community. Over on Tik Tok, I have about 1.2 million followers and through Tik Tok we’ve delivered 170 thousand dollars’ worth of Lego,” Cassevah added.
Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital is now the 35th hospital that Cassevah said he has been able to visit since he began his charity.
Teresa Kristoff, a child life supervisor at Yale New Haven Children’s welcomed the opportunity for Cassevah to visit the hospital.
“It was really incredible that he reached out to us, and we really didn’t know what he was bringing, and we started talking to him and we were amazed to say the least,” she said.
Cassevah, who has a 9-year-old daughter back in his home state of Virginia said he will continue to spread the love through Lego down the road.
“I didn’t just find my passion in life, I found my purpose in life… everything we get to do with the kids, it makes every 14-hour drive, every day away from my daughter worth every moment.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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