CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — For Russell Cassava, Lego isn’t just a toy—it’s a mission.
“We deliver Lego and other building sets to children's hospitals all across the nation and create expanded play experiences to provide the most opportunity for children to have fun while in hospital," Cassava said.
He’s the founder of Little Bricks Charity, a nonprofit that builds big smiles and fun for hospitalized kids, one Lego set at a time.
"This year alone, I've gone well over 5000 miles already traveling all the way up to Ohio, Chicago, down to Houston, up to New York," he said.
Since inception, Russell not only lives this mission, with more than 16,000 deliveries to 56 hospitals since its inception, but he wears it with a mohawk, a look inspired by 1-year old Tessa.
“She was going through chemotherapy, she had the cutest little faux mohawk and my community, as well as millions of other people, came together and we started a hashtag called faux hawks for Tessa," Cassava said. "And Tessa unfortunately passed away about six months after we started rocking the mohawk. And, you know, I vowed to, I vowed to her and her family that I would rock a mohawk till the day I die.”
For Tessa and other children fighting grueling diseases, Russell travels thousands of miles delivering these Lego bricks of happiness.
“The van is the lifeline of our charity. It's how we get Lego sets and other building sets to these children's hospitals. Without that van, our operation is shut down," he said.
But last month, the nonprofit’s journey hit a roadblock.
“We took our van in for an oil change, and they offered to do a coolant flush," Cassava explained. "When they did, they ruined our engine. We left the place, and it got about a half a mile down the road here in Virginia Beach from Take Five Auto Care, and unfortunately, they were not willing to fix the problem.”
Facing thousands of dollars in repairs and an uncertain road ahead, Russell turned to TikTok asking for help.
“The van will start. It’s got four codes going on and at this point I don’t know if we can afford to fix it. If you know of anyone who can help us get the charity van back on the road please comment and tag them below,” he pleaded.
That’s when a guardian repair angel with a wrench scrolled into Jimmy's life.
“So we were scrolling through TikTok one day, and we seen Russ video that he helps out kids with cancer, and Zach and I decided, 'Hey, let's reach out to him, see if we can help him get this thing back on the road and be able to give all these kids, all the Legos in the world,'" said Jimmy Barefoot.
Barefoot and Zach Samples, the owners of Precision Tune Auto Care in Chesterfield, stepped in to help.
For Barefoot, the nostalgia of Lego runs deep.
"I got two kids, Owen and Ava, and they love Legos," he said.
Not to mention the Lego play pen in their waiting area.
But helping Little Bricks Charity was about more than just play.
“We got humbled. Basically, you know, our kids being that our kids are not sick, you know, seeing that it slowed us down. Zach and I are extremely busy all the time with we own three of these shops, and just it hit our heart pretty hard. ” said Jimmy.
They didn’t just offer to fix the van for free. He went full throttle—sending a tow truck for pick up too.
Cassava went to TikTok again with another update:
“My man French over here is about to tow this all the way to Chesterfield, VA. Huge shout out to Jimmy at Precision Tune Auto. They have vowed to get the van back on the road so we can deliver thousands of Lego sets to hospitalized kids nationwide. Let’s GOOOO!”
“Jimmy literally went above and beyond. He and his team worked through Friday and Saturday. They found the problem. I actually got a call earlier today. He's like, Hey, man, it's fixed. We're ready to go," Cassava said.
Thanks to Jimmy’s kindness, Little Bricks Charity will be back in drive soon.
“I legitimately didn’t think we’d find help. What Jimmy did is it took a weight off my shoulders and it’s inspiring.” said Russell.
A charity built on bringing joy to others is now the recipient of a little joy itself.
“When I asked him, you know, what can I do to repay you? He said, Just keep delivering Lego man, like use the van once we fix it. ... they stepped up in ways I never would have imagined, and I'm blessed to have good friends like Jimmy in my life now.”
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
