LEGO Digs Up Discontinued Set for Boy Who Saved Up for 2 Years
In need of a feel-good story heading into the heart of the holiday season? Well friends, you have one, and it comes courtesy of LEGO, or "The best company in the world" as seen through the eyes of one extremely grateful 11-year-old boy who received a discontinued train set from LEGO after he tried acquiring it on his own.
His name is James Groccia, and like many kids, he has a love for LEGOs. His just happens to run deeper, and by the time he was 10 years old, he had already accumulated a handful of LEGO sets, including Hero Factory, Creationary, Lunar, Limo, and others.
For Groccia, LEGO sets are more than just toys. He has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, and he participates in a LEGO playgroup to help with his social skills, When he was around 8 years old, he spied The Emerald Night Train set "and fell in love with it," according to his letter to LEGO. Way out of his price range, his parents told him he'd have to save his money to buy it. And so he did, for two years, or an eternity when you're that age. The only problem is, by the time he saved the necessary $100, the set had been discontinued and the only ones available were through second-hand sellers asking $250 for what had become a collectible. He was crushed, but didn't give up.
Groccia wrote a heartfelt letter to LEGO explaining his situation and asking whether they had any at their corporate headquarters. Two days before his 11th birthday, a package arrives from LEGO containing the train set and a letter of its own. Groccia's reaction is captured in a 4-minute video embedded below. Give it a glance, you'll be glad you did.
His name is James Groccia, and like many kids, he has a love for LEGOs. His just happens to run deeper, and by the time he was 10 years old, he had already accumulated a handful of LEGO sets, including Hero Factory, Creationary, Lunar, Limo, and others.
For Groccia, LEGO sets are more than just toys. He has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, and he participates in a LEGO playgroup to help with his social skills, When he was around 8 years old, he spied The Emerald Night Train set "and fell in love with it," according to his letter to LEGO. Way out of his price range, his parents told him he'd have to save his money to buy it. And so he did, for two years, or an eternity when you're that age. The only problem is, by the time he saved the necessary $100, the set had been discontinued and the only ones available were through second-hand sellers asking $250 for what had become a collectible. He was crushed, but didn't give up.
Groccia wrote a heartfelt letter to LEGO explaining his situation and asking whether they had any at their corporate headquarters. Two days before his 11th birthday, a package arrives from LEGO containing the train set and a letter of its own. Groccia's reaction is captured in a 4-minute video embedded below. Give it a glance, you'll be glad you did.
