ISSAQUAH, Wash. — After Jack Haines' sister underwent cancer treatment at Seattle Children's hospital, the 16-year-old decided to turn his childhood obsession into comfort for kids in need.
Jack has been passionate about LEGO for the past decade and always dreamed about creating his own set.
Inspiration struck when thinking about tougher times when his sister was diagnosed with cancer.
“About five years ago she was battling cancer at Seattle Children’s hospital and they took such good care of her that I wanted to pay them back as a thank you,” he said.
Jack has gone to great lengths to create a custom LEGO kit that features surrounding that kids in the hospital would find familiar.
“I’ve created the whole hospital room. A bed, an IV pole, a whiteboard and a desk with a chair. There’s a patient and a nurse. I even sourced some hard-to-find wheelchairs from overseas.”
Not only did Jack focus on the furnishings but he worked with a company out of Monroe called Bricks & MiniFigs to add tiny custom designs and logos.
“I wanted to make the whiteboard look like what the kids will see with drawings and X-ray like images but the body is of course a mini-figure. I even added the Seattle Children’s logo on the uniforms and desk to make it special for them.”
His initial goal is to deliver 100 custom kits to distribute to kids in the oncology clinic but he hopes to expand the effort.
The challenge is also his Eagle Scout community project.
Jack is relying on donations to buy and customize each kit.