Sutton mother donates 700 Lego sets to cancer patients

Jane Carpenter's son James was diagnosed with glioma, a type of primary tumor that begins in the glial cells of the brain or spinal cord, in 2013. He died on September 2, 2022, at the age of 22, after battling the problems associated with the cancer.

The 54-year-old said her son was “fun-loving” and “intelligent”, had a great zest for life and hoped to become an architect, although his illness affected his memory and speech, among other things.

Lego also played a big role in his life and he regularly built models out of bricks together with his 62-year-old father John.

His funeral took place on October 14, 2022, and his coffin was wrapped in Lego bricks and featured a Union Flag design.

“He and John had their own kind of Lego language and they would sit there and sort the pieces into piles,” Ms Carpenter, who works as a special educational needs (SEN) teaching assistant at a local school in Wallington, south London, told the PA news agency.

“Lego was a great distraction from his cancer.”

Lego played a big role in James' life and he regularly built brick models with his father John. (Image: PA)

Within a week of her son's death, she put out a message on Facebook asking if anyone would be willing to donate a box of Lego that she could give to children suffering from cancer in memory of her son.

“We got boxes of Lego and my daughter said it felt like Christmas morning,” she added.

To date, she has donated 764 Lego sets – also known as James' Box of Smiles – to various hospitals and organisations across the country, including The Wight Brainy Bunch, an organisation that provides emotional support and financial assistance to families affected by brain tumours on the Isle of Wight.

She has also donated Lego to hospitals further afield, such as Oklahoma Children's Hospital, where her son received proton beam therapy in 2014.

Some people give Lego to the family, but most donate money to a fundraising page set up by Ms Carpenter, which purchases Lego items upon request from the hospitals that benefit from them, including the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and Epsom Hospital.

To date, Jane has distributed 764 Lego sets to hospitals and organizations across the country. (Image: PA)

“They usually email me and say, for example, 'We have a child here who may need a transplant and will be isolated for a few weeks. Also, he really likes Harry Potter. Do you have a set like that?'” she explains.

“I look at our inventory and if we don’t have something, I buy it.”

“If we live near a hospital, we take the Lego off.”

She said feedback from places that have benefited from the project has been “positive”.

“Several nurses say, 'James would love this' and 'Keep up the good work,'” she said.

“Hospital staff say Lego brings a smile to people's faces and helps keep children occupied during their treatment.”

Costs vary between sets, with around £15 being the lowest amount spent.

She said she expanded the project to adults this year because her son turned 24 and “Lego has no age limit.”

“It's hard for people who haven't lost a child to understand, but this project keeps us busy, we enjoy it and I hope we can continue it for as long as possible,” she added.