Today’s guest article comes from Brian Saviano, one of the only AFOLs who still buys LEGO Super Mario, who shares how the LEGO community is coming together to raise money for cancer research.

One Idea, One Mission

Every great initiative starts with a few people stepping up and making it happen. We can sit around all day and discuss what we should do, but rising to the challenge can grow beyond what you’ve ever expected. What started with one person clicking bricks together during a live stream on Twitch has evolved into one of the most ambitious and successful charity campaigns in the LEGO realm!

I’m honored to forge my second article here on BrickNerd and share the remarkable work of the BrickBuilding community again! Our newly established team, “Stand Up Builders,” is spearheading the annual “Up2Us” charity drive for Stand Up to Cancer. Our third year of fundraising finds us breaking records across LEGO builders, crafters, and variety streamers.

Stand Up to Cancer has established itself as a leader in breaking down barriers between scientific initiatives across borders, fueling the development of groundbreaking clinical trials, and taking every step imaginable toward curing cancer forever. Cancer affects everybody—a co-worker, a stranger, a friend, and even many people in the LEGO community—we all know somebody who is powering through their journey or has found peace after a long-fought battle. This cause is personal for everyone, so it’s a no-brainer for us to take a stand and raise awareness.

Cancer affects everyone. Whether a friend, family member, coworker, community member, or your own battle, this disease manifests in some of the best people in the worst ways. It’s one of the few causes we as humanity can equally see eye-to-eye on, regardless of creed. It has impacted close to home with some BrickNerd contributors. It impacts the LEGO community with amazing builders and community stalwarts diagnosed frequently.

Based in Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (the parent company of SU2C) maintains a 100% rating on Charity Navigator as a verified 501(c)(3). Since 2008, it has funded thousands of researchers and patients, raising over $800 million.

We’re Just Getting Started

We began our campaign on August 8th, intending to raise $22,205 through ten days of broadcasting on Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram. This would mark the team’s $100,000 lifetime fundraising goal, specifically for Stand Up to Cancer. We crushed our goal in 24 hours.

At the time of writing this article, we’ve raised just over $39,000 and have no plans of slowing down. Although we take our sweet time when building LEGO, we’re like a bullet train when it comes to raising money for meaningful causes. Stand Up Builders doesn’t just build LEGO; we build community and each other up every day. That shines incredibly bright during this time of year.

We’ve expanded beyond just Twitch live streamers by including folks from YouTube, Instagram, and beyond! You can be involved if you’re a content creator and a decent person. With two years of successful campaigns under our belts, creators and their respective communities were ready to tackle another fundraising round to destroy cancer. I’ve enjoyed seeing the communities cross-pollinate in real-time, driving each other with incentives and memes and holding each other accountable for our outlandishness. Going beyond just one platform with our reach has united the community more than I anticipated.

A Personal Reflection

I was initially approached by Andy Steig, the Influencers & Gaming Community Director at Stand Up To Cancer, to fundraise as an individual back in 2020. Although venturing out on your own presents unique and exciting challenges, you can go farther with amazing people by your side.

I’m a full-time, family-friendly content creator across all platforms. I’m always “tending to the garden” and “appeasing algorithms” with daily and weekly content while planning major events to keep people’s interest. The gurus and thought leaders will tell you it’s all a game of numbers and manipulating attention. The human aspect is lost in the noise of making extraordinary things happen.

This event reminds me of the power of community. You can have five million followers across every platform under the sun, but you need to care about the people behind these channels and brands to get the support you feel entitled to. No algorithm or guru can measure the impact of individuals, especially an important cause like this one. This team and I personally are all about shattering expectations. Don’t measure us by our number of followers but by our impact on people worldwide.

The Fight Continues and We Won’t Stop!

With over double the number of team members from last year and three times the coordination (shoutout to MoreAmor and JakeStuds for saving my sanity), I believe we’re finally realizing just how far we can go. Not only is eradicating cancer from the world a unified belief across all humanity, but combined with the continued effort of remarkable individuals, curing cancer is all but inevitable.

Wondering how you can get involved? You can donate to any creator’s fundraising campaign by clicking here. Our Twitch Team page shows the list of creators that are currently live. We’re fundraising through August 18th, in which you can donate to the overall team campaign or an individual’s campaign while scoring some spicy rewards. Every bit is appreciated regardless of how much or where you put your dollars. Each Creator has their schedule posted on their campaign pages, so jump into the chat and say hello!

On behalf of Stand Up Builders, I look forward to seeing you during our live streams on Twitch, in the comments on YouTube, and sharing your stories across Instagram and all social media platforms. If you’d like to get involved right now or in the future, please reach out to me via brian@bricksobrian.com.

How do you stand up to cancer in the LEGO community? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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