Brandon Larouche at an event at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord (Courtesy of brix603)
What started as a weekend clean-up for Brandon Larouche turned into a passion project to encourage kids to pursue STEM careers.
A longtime Lego enthusiast, Larouche had collected all kinds of sets, but he faced one problem: There was not enough space to store them. By age 28, he had amassed about 1,000 pounds of Lego bricks in a storage unit, which he ultimately donated to a local Boys & Girls Club.
But soon he began receiving messages and phone calls from teachers, libraries, and other local groups asking if he had any more. “Then I thought, alright, maybe I just started something here and I’ve always wanted to give back to the community,” he says.
603 Brix was born five years ago, collecting Lego bricks to donate to schools, libraries, and nonprofits across the state. This spring 603 Brix aims to deliver 30 pounds of Legos to 15 libraries through its annual Spring
Lego dropoff.
Larouche currently works full time at Ferrotec in Bedford building motors and shafts that go onto automated robots. However, his love for building started much earlier, sparked by the creativity of Lego—something he hopes to pass on through the program.
His biggest concern is the potential job loss for future generations tied to the rise of artificial intelligence. While AI aims to make certain careers more efficient, it has begun replacing jobs such as customer service, data entry, and other administrative positions. Larouche hopes to use Lego building to help children develop foundational STEM skills. These skills align with emerging career paths tied to artificial intelligence, such as engineering, product management, design, and scientific research that can’t be replaced.
“Somebody is going to need to take care of it and repair that technology,” he says. He believes Lego are a strong first step for future technicians, engineers, and designers because they encourage focus, problem-solving, and hands-on exploration.
The Manchester YMCA, one of the nonprofits receiving Lego from him, can attest to this. Veronica Parker, the director of day camp and teen services at the Manchester YMCA, says the organization created a program called “Build Break,” which allows campers to step away from other activities and build with Lego bricks. Build Breaks replaced traditional disciplinary responses such as timeouts or being sent to the office, transforming what might have been a negative experience into a constructive one. Campers use this time to pause, reflect, and regulate their emotions while engaging in a healthy, non-overstimulating activity.
Larouche currently works alone at 603 Brix. He spends about $100 a month out of pocket for bins, boxes, and cleaning supplies for the Lego bricks. Once a donation comes in, he arranges the pickup and begins the sorting process. This includes cleaning and sanitizing the pieces, removing any non-Lego items, pulling out sharp or broken bricks, and packaging everything for the next user. He has received offers from people who want to volunteer, but space is limited to his apartment, where his office has been converted into a Lego-sorting room.
Donations come primarily through word of mouth or Facebook community pages and are augmented by sets he purchases at Goodwill. He typically receives 100 to 200 pounds of Legos each month.
Larouche has donated to more than 80 locations across southern NH and northern Massachusetts. Some of those include the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, ALC Xploration in Nashua, and several YMCA branches, hospitals, and local Boys & Girls Clubs.
With bins stacked high and requests coming weekly, Larouche has his sights set on the future with an annual goal to collect and redistribute 2,000 pounds of Lego. He hopes to create custom Lego mosaics such as family portraits or personalized designs as a fundraiser to give him the time and resources to expand. He hopes those projects can support the program financially and showcase the creative possibilities that drew him to Lego in the first place.
For more information, visit the 603 Brix Facebook page.
Written by Ashleigh Hodson, a student at University of NH-Manchester and a participant in the Young Reporters’ Project, a joint venture of Business NH Magazine and UNH-Manchester to introduce students to journalism.