Up To Us: The BrickBuilding Community’s Fight Against Cancer

Today’s guest article comes from Brian Saviano, a LEGO Super Mario super-AFOL who shares how the Twitch community came together to help raise funds to fight cancer.

Standing Up For Change

We all have the ability to do good, regardless of our reach. Small acts of generosity, kindness, and empathy change how the world turns. It’s from the combined efforts of an outstanding collection of people uniting for the greater good. These ideals were exemplified as the LEGO BrickBuilding Community on Twitch (a live-streaming video platform) came together to support Stand Up To Cancer.

We raised over $40,000 in the name of eradicating cancer. With the help of people new to the hobby, established creators, and a network of amazing friends, we took massive leaps forward in funding life-changing cancer research. Let me guide you through our beginnings, process, and intentions with this grueling fight against cancer.

Fueling the Fight Against Cancer

Helping fund the newest and most promising cancer research, Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) helps patients find effective treatments for their needs. Their research dramatically accelerates the rate of new discoveries, leading to better cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Essentially, they’re funding the science behind eradicating cancer once and for all.

Based in Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (the parent company of SU2C) maintains a 94% rating on Charity Navigator as a verified 501(c)(3). They’ve funded thousands of researchers and tens of thousands of patients since 2008 and raised more than $750 million to date. So you can see why the BrickBuilding community and friends of Twitch are honored to lend a hand in these life-changing efforts.

How Cancer Impacts Our LEGO Community

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 diagnosed frequently, most recently Master Model Builder Mariann Asanuma. (You can contribute to her medical expenses here if you want to help.)

Destroying cancer is a no-brainer. I knew Stand Up To Cancer was a reputable organization, so when Andy Steig asked if I’d be interested in fundraising, it was an easy “yes” from me. A retro videogame fan at heart, Andy is the Influencer and Gaming Community Director at Stand Up To Cancer. He leads the SU2CStreamTeam every August during a concentrated fundraising effort, specifically from content creators across all platforms (including gamers on Twitch). His fight is personal; he lost his father, Henry in 2019 to a rare form of thyroid cancer. 

He asked if I knew anyone else interested in helping the cause, and I responded, “I may know a few people.”

The BrickBuilding Community of Twitch

Founded by LEGO Master BrickinNick and long-time community member SetToBuild (both featured in BrickNerd’s Twitch community introduction), the BrickBuilding Community (BBCMTY) was established to bring awareness to LEGO-centric content on Twitch. As there’s no official “LEGO” category on Twitch (even after years of awareness and advocacy), this tag, in theory, should be used to identify any LEGO builders on the platform. Instead, a Discord server and Twitch team consolidated a list of builders on the platform.

I’m actually not part of the Twitch team. I don’t even build LEGO on livestreams! Compared to most people reading this, I’m not much of a LEGO builder. I may be called “Bricks ‘O’ Brian,” but my love of Super Mario and Minecraft supremely outweigh most LEGO sets (though I love the LEGO Super Mario line.)

So, what gave me any right to use the BrickBuilders' name for this charity event? If you’re excluding my fifteen-year involvement across LEGO community outlets like Beyond the Brick, hosting panels at BrickFair Virginia, or uplifting community members while giving hot takes on LEGO sets, not much at all. But listen, that’s neither here nor there. I have experience raising funds for Creations for Charity with Beyond the Brick’s 24-Hour Charity Livestreams and a deep passion for supporting deserving people.

Nobody owns this community. I’m just the guy who dared to “ring the bell” and summon the best people to support a worthwhile cause… and happens to operate the BrickBuilders Tiltify Team. That’s exactly what we did last year in 2022 when the “BrickBuilders Against Cancer” campaign raised $33,530.

Creators like TheLocalBrickShop, TerrificAsheriffic, and ZachMRutledge rallied their communities to support Stand Up To Cancer in just a week. Amish_Ace, a California-based LEGO streamer and Twitch Partner, successfully won his battle with thyroid cancer, making his campaigns’ mission even more personal. These fine people, alongside the entire BrickBuilders team, are currently the #1 team on the SU2CStreamTeam leaderboard. We even beat SEGA! (Yes, the game company behind Sonic the Hedgehog. Not that this is a competition, of course…)

When asked to return for 2023, I knew my fellow creators and community would be on board. Along with a few new additions to the team, we were bound to make a big splash (and boy, did we!)

Another Year of Outstanding Support

This year across 22 creator campaigns, the “BrickBuilders & Friends Against Cancer” campaign raised $44,215 in one week.

We clobbered the 2022 numbers with the generous support of creators in and around the LEGO community on Twitch! Each creator offered their own campaign incentives, including wearing peelable banana costumes, giving away LEGO sets, or shaving off facial hair, all in the name of charity. 

This year’s festivities included LEGO builders, crocheters, gamers, and podcasters across Twitch. Avid fundraiser NinePointFive gave away game skins while celebrating five years on the platform and crocheting SU2C hearts with a $100 donation. Everybody brought a contribution to their campaigns, which helped raise awareness across channels throughout the week.

You may know JANGBricks for his countless YouTube reviews, ever-expanding LEGO city, or ASMR, but he’s a whole different class during his Twitch streams. Infusing set-based build-alongs, MOC-ing sessions, and the occasional Gundam stream, theJANG brings the perfect balance of conversation and chaos to his live shows. Based on his long-standing YouTube presence, it’s the exact opposite of what you’d expect from him (and it’s awesome). Alongside raising money for SU2C regularly throughout the year, his community alone garnered a whopping $17,000 during our charity week.

As an incentive, he created a LEGO version of the SU2C Heart Emote I made to support the event. This was created in real-time during the charity week on JANG’s live stream. This emote became the symbol uniting all channels in support of the charity week. (I whipped it up in Photoshop in 20 minutes, and it later became adopted by the SU2C Discord server!)

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These fundraising streams can get a little fun too. BrickNerd-in-Chief Dave Schefcik donated to JANG’s campaign on behalf of the entire team, triggering a limited-time alert featuring yours truly rapping Mom’s Spaghetti alongside JANG for a $100 donation. (What can I say? I’m a hip-hop superstar and a man of the people!) BrickNerd also made an additional donation to reach a really nerdy number…

Regardless, it touching to see people donate everything from a few dollars to a few more. Remember, always donate within your means! Every amount is appreciated, even if all you can do is spread the word about our efforts—it means the world. But don’t be like Ian Douglas, who accidentally donated $20,000.64 to Amish_Ace’s campaign (he quickly got it reversed).

Our Commitment to Destroying Cancer, Forever

In a sea of gamers with questionable language and moral codes, the BrickBuilding Community shines brightly during this fundraising week. BrickBuilders know how to have fun and elevate LEGO content beyond what the pieces themselves bring to the table. We remind people there’s more to Twitch than video games or hot tub streams (yes, those are a thing.) I’m honored to help assemble the most inspiring, selfless, and jovial creators to be part of this fundraising effort every August.

Our fundraising efforts will continue as we march toward raising a cumulative $100,000 across our Stand Up To Cancer campaigns. Our next fundraiser is already scheduled in 2024 for August 18th to 25th. LEGO builders (or honestly anyone interested in fundraising under our banner) are more than welcome to join the team (and tomfoolery). I try to find as many awesome people for the team as possible, but I’m only one guy with a full-time job content creating and writing children’s books. I’m sure there are even more amazing people to join the BrickBuilding Community.

So if you’d like to learn more, join the team, or know someone who would like to join for 2024, please get in touch with me at [email protected]. Or if you just want to help us try to eradicate cancer in the LEGO community, share your story, or be a cheerleader, follow the BrickBuilding creators on Twitch. You never know what kind of community you will find there until you try.

Has cancer affected your life? Let us know in the comments below.

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