Bricks of Hope marks milestone with 30,000th LEGO set delivery to kids in hospitals

After jumping in feet first four and a half years ago, the founder of the local nonprofit Bricks of Hope, Adam Petraglia,   says he is glad he did. 

Since 2021, the organization has stayed true to its simple but profound mission of providing new LEGO sets to kids stuck in the hospital—showing how the power of the colorful blocks can help to brighten a child's day when they need it most. 

"This is going to be number 30,000 we have in these boxes right here," Petraglia said.

Boxes full of toys that can make a child's day.

"It's definitely been a journey ... been tough. It's been challenging, but it's incredibly rewarding," he said.

Much like the LEGO sets he delivers, Petraglia has spent the last four and a half years building Bricks of Hope piece by piece from the ground up.

"Our first delivery was actually here at Advocate. We donated 70 LEGO sets," he said.

Now, Petraglia and his team of volunteers donate more than 1,000 LEGO sets each month to children's hospitals across Chicagoland, even extending their reach to Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

"Our mission is very simple, very basic. It's delivering new LEGO sets to sick kids, but creating those feelings is what I've become proud of," Petraglia said.

With lots of sets to choose from, including a Super Mario Bros. themed one.

"I had always lived with the idea of I survived for a reason," he said.

Not so long ago, it was a young Petraglia who desperately needed a dose of joy.

"In January of 2001, I was diagnosed with leukemia on my 11th birthday, just two floors up, celebrated in the rec room on the floor, and 30 minutes later was getting a life-changing diagnosis," he said.

For six months, Petraglia endured rounds of chemotherapy.

"Being an 11-year-old, it's hard to understand," he said. "You have braces on your legs. You're walking with a cane because, you know, your muscles have atrophied being in bed so long. And I think it's just wanting to get back to what was normal in the eyes of everybody around you and the community around you."

Katie Steinberg is a child life specialist at Advocate Children's Hospital in Park Ridge. As Petraglia's child life specialist did with him, she often uses LEGO sets as tools to help her patients understand what they're going through. 

"A lot of it is taking what the hospital is talking about, what the doctors are saying, and really helping make it more digestible for kids and in a context that they can understand," she said.

While it's hard to make sense of the impact 30,000 LEGO sets have had on that many hospitalized children, Petraglia prefers to hold close the experience of just one.  

"We had another patient here. He was in isolation. We couldn't go into the room. He came to the door. Eventually picked a kit out and held it above his head and said, this is the best day of my life," he said.

A reminder of the impact a small gift can have.

"When you say 30,000, I think of that 30,000 times over because those are the moments we're trying to create that many times," Petraglia said.