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New to First Book?
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Posted in: Our Partners, Thought Leadership
This blog features an interview with David Pallash, Director of Learning Through Play – Social Responsibility at the LEGO Group. Drawing on his expertise in using play to inspire learning and strengthen social impact, David offers insights from his work at the intersection of education and corporate responsibility.
Young people today are growing up in a complex world, facing big questions and navigating challenges. Supporting their growth requires creativity, resilience, and purposeful learning.
That’s why First Book and the LEGO Group have partnered to bring the LEGO Group’s Build the Change, a hands-on educator-informed program, to students across the U.S. Rooted in Learning Through Play, this initiative encourages children to explore real-world challenges and design creative solutions using their own imagination.
“[Build the Change] not only develops the skills children need to thrive but also puts a special focus on giving them a voice on the topics that matter to them – particularly around people and planet,” said David Pallash, Director of Learning Through Play – Social Responsibility at the LEGO Group. “It’s a program that puts children’s creativity on the pedestal that they deserve, and hopefully reminds us grown-ups that we need to listen more to young people’s ideas.”
At its core, Build the Change creates opportunities for students to build confidence, strengthen collaboration skills, and see themselves as leaders with the ability to make a difference.
“Agency in a child is something that needs nurturing,” said Pallash. “They need to understand that they have a voice that needs to be heard and that they can make change happen. These are key qualities in becoming a leader.”
Since launching the partnership in 2021, Build the Change has grown from reaching 200,000 students to more than 2.4 million. By connecting the LEGO Group’s resources with First Book’s Network of more than 600,000 educators and program leaders, this partnership ensures that tools for learning and exploration reach the classrooms and settings that need them most.
What makes Build the Change especially effective is its foundation in educator insight. Through First Book’s Research & Insights, this partnership gathers direct feedback from educators across the country to inform every step of resource development.
“First Book’s research capabilities have been integral to the global Build the Change offering,” Pallash shares. “We’ve tested everything from activity names and topics to animations and workshop content. It’s meant the content we launch feels like it’s been co-created with the community.”
The constant feedback loop ensures that Build the Change resources are both educator-informed and ready to use with children. It also allows the LEGO Group’s Social Responsibility team to scale efforts thoughtfully using data insights to develop relevant content.
For the LEGO Group’s Social Responsibility team, partnering with First Book has become more than a collaboration. Build the Change is a blueprint for how corporations and nonprofits can work together to scale impact, build trust, and serve communities authentically.
“There’s a misconception that nonprofits and corporations are incompatible,” says Pallash. “But when a partnership works, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Each brings something so complementary to the other.”
Through collaboration, educator-informed research and insights, and a shared belief in Learning through Play, this partnership has grown into something that extends beyond the classroom—creating lasting impact on students, educators, and communities.
“That trust has led to genuine friendship between our teams,” Pallash says. “Something that’s not always possible in partnerships—but when it does happen, it’s pretty awesome.”
Educators can join First Book’s Network — the largest online community of individual educators, professionals and volunteers dedicated to supporting children in need across North America — to bring new books, educational resources, and supplies to their classroom or program.
