How Chelsea’s tenth birthday changed thousands of children’s lives

It all started on Chelsea Phaire’s tenth birthday.

Instead of getting gifts, Chelsea decided that she wanted to give them. So, for her birthday, she asked her friends to gift her art supplies that she would then donate to a local shelter. Her friends responded, Chelsea donated the supplies, and ‘Chelsea’s Charity’ was born.

Since her first donation, Chelsea has continued to gather arts and crafts supplies, which she donates to foster homes, hospitals, shelters and schools. Each art kit contains things like crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint and brushes, canvases, booklets and sketch pads, and is designed to give kids everything they need to be creative, to play and to express themselves.

Chelsea has now donated over 13,000 art kits to children in over 30 states and two different countries.

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Connecting kids to the power of creativity

Chelsea wants to build a world where everyone has access to create art and express themselves. That’s why she gives children the tools to paint, draw and build, but for Chelsea, art is about something much deeper than simply playing.

After Chelsea suddenly lost a beloved swimming instructor and then her grandfather in quick succession, she found that art and creativity helped her to heal and to deal with her feelings in a positive way. Now, she wants to pass on the power to heal to other children, some of whom may be experiencing challenging situations in their own life.

Before the pandemic, Chelsea would travel to different communities handing out art kits in person, as well as speaking to groups of children about how creativity can help them communicate, express what they are feeling and help them overcome social or emotional challenges that they might be facing.

When travel and in-person visits became more challenging, she began to create videos and post her art kits around the country. She even hosted virtual Packing Parties where she would encourage others to pack their own art kits for distribution in their neighborhoods.

Creating the amazing ‘Art for All’ box

Creativity is at the heart of everything Chelsea does, and since we’re committed to celebrating creativity whenever and wherever it appears, we wanted to help her get even more art supplies to even more kids.

We helped Chelsea to build a brand new ‘Art for All’ box. A bright and colorful box made of LEGO® bricks that she could use to give away even more creative goodies.

Now that you know a bit about Chelsea, it will probably come as no surprise that she was extraordinarily creative when it came to helping to build the box.<br>

The box features some of Chelsea’s own designs and was made using around 1,500 bricks taking an impressive 38 hours to complete. It now stands in her hometown of Danbury, Connecticut, so that any child can come and collect their own art kit that includes a set of LEGO DOTS – or donate their art supplies for other kids to enjoy.

These clever arts and crafts sets fit perfectly into Chelsea’s mission to encourage creativity. LEGO DOTS are made up of colored dots (tiles) that children can use to create whatever they want, from bracelets and stationery to picture frames and jewelry holders. They’re all about helping kids engage their creativity and express themselves through building.

Building a brighter future for all

In 2021, Chelsea wants to spread creativity and play even further, and give out even more art kits than she did last year.

Chelsea’s story is powerful and inspiring and another great example of a kid rebuilding the world around them one brick at a time.