BrickDreams appreciates being recognized as the Daisy Buttons Believes grant recipient for the month of November. See more in the press release below.
Making a Difference Brick by Brick
13YO wins $1000 grant to help abused kids “build” hope.
Folsom, CA: When 13 year old Lleyton Rutz first got involved with BrickDreams ™ it was because his Dad, a tennis pro, had collected tons of tennis ball cans. He was looking for something positive to do with them and discovered BrickDreams needed cans to distribute their Legos in. Over time and many hours of service, Lleyton grew to love the mission and the difference he could see it making for so many kids. In fact, he loved it so much that he didn’t even need to think twice when he was asked to run BrickDreams! “When my family and I were asked to take it over or it would stop existing, it was clear that we had to step up and make sure that Brick Dreams kept its mission going. I cared so much about the kids. I wanted to do it all for the kids.” Rutz said.
With the help of his twin brother Kyle, family and friends, Lleyton has grown his dream to distribute 700 lbs. of Legos in the last year! That’s 1400 cans of them to kids in need. He targets kids of domestic violence and was even recognized recently by the Folsom Police Department being awarded the “Symbol of Service” award. “Legos are simple and easy for everyone to play and build with!” Rutz said. “They are a really encouraging gift to a child who is struggling to find joy” he added.
Shortly after taking over BrickDreams (originally founded by Bailey Snow), Lleyton began looking for resources he could use to help him run and grow his charity. That’s when he found Daisy Button Believes™. He now uses their network of kid Philanthropists for support, advice and ideas for his own cause. Because of his hard work and results, he received one of the organizations monthly $1000 grants to further “build” BrickDreams. “The grant money will help us so much. It will help pay for a storage unit I want to buy so I don’t have to pay rent on a unit any more. It will also help expand our donor program globally and establish ourselves as a true non-profit 501c3.” Rutz said.
DaisyButtonBelieves.com was founded by children’s author Tracey Serebin. She was inspired to create the site after working with schools in New Jersey. “I realized there was no central location that kids could learn from each other, find the resources they needed to take their ideas to the next level, and get feedback from other kids who had succeeded in a big way. I also wanted to expose them to adult role models that have created successful platforms and used their money and position for good.” Serebin said.
Past winners include Sally Campbell (13) of Sallybrating with a Cause, raising money for Cancer patients, Brooke Thomas (12) of The Thomas Promise Foundation, filling backpacks for hungry kids in her community, Violet Humble (8), of VOLT, feeding the homeless and Torrin Thorp (13) of The Helping Hand Project, creating Blessing Bags and collecting entertainment for hospitals.
For more information about Daisy Button Believes, please visit: www.daisybuttonbelieves.com or call 201-394-5328. For more information about BrickDreams, please visit: http://www.brickdreams.org.