LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Turning 16 is a big moment for a teenager. For some, it can mean throwing a party, or a new car waiting for them in the driveway. But one Lubbock teen is continuing a birthday tradition of giving, instead of receiving.
Every year, Jacen Phillips collects LEGOs for his birthday, so he can donate them to kids at Covenant Children’s Hospital.
“It makes me feel like, it’s just like I‘m doing something to help out and it just kind of makes me feel really good,” he said.
His family knows having a reason to smile in the hospital can mean everything. When Jacen was born, his twin brother, Nathan, had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. The family spent two months in the NICU, before going home on hospice.
The tradition of giving began when the twins were two. When Nathan died, instead of flowers at the funeral, his parents asked for stuffed animals, so they could donate them to kids at the hospital.
Even though Jacen was young when he lost his brother, he took the idea and ran with it, carrying on his parents’ legacy with LEGOs.
“I feel it makes them happy to see that like, I‘m actually taking more initiative and they can also remember, as well,” he said. “They also help out a lot in the process and they feel like it’s just good for all of us to remember, especially since that was so long ago, just not to forget and everything.”
Every year, Jacen asks his friends to skip giving him a present and donate a LEGO set instead.
“That brings in a lot more, as well, since I‘m not getting presents, it’s just going to me straight to the kids,” Jacen said.
It’s even easier to donate this year, through an Amazon Wishlist. Jacen says LEGOs can serve as a good distraction for him, so he hopes everyone will consider helping provide one for kids in the hospital.
“The Lord says treat others how you want to be treated. Well, if I was in the hospital, I feel like I would really want something to do and I feel like it would help me so much to get just something,” he said. “I think it’s just such a good thing to help out, especially if you would want to be treated that way in there.”
Jacen hopes to deliver 275 sets on his sixteenth birthday, May 31. To donate, purchase a LEGO set from this Amazon Wishlist and it will be delivered to Jacen’s family, so they can take it to the hospital.
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