By Maddy Anand, Packet Media Group
The children’s faces lit up as Sam and Logan Leppo asked them whether they wanted a toy car or dog, then personally handed toys to each of them. Some of the children had a lot of difficulty deciding, but they all were happy with their choices at the end and said “thank you.”
On July 8, Logan and Sam’s Workshop held its first-ever Christmas In July event in the HomeFront’s Katzenbach School location.
They distributed handmade wooden toys to the children associated with the Homefront of Mercer County. The HomeFront’s mission is to end homelessness in Mercer County, N.J., by providing necessities and assistance to families.
Rising juniors at the Hun School of Princeton, the brothers created Logan and Sam’s Workshop LLC. and made and distributed the toys themselves.
Liza Peck, volunteer coordinator at the Homefront Family Preservation Center, said the Leppos were a pleasure to work with and she considers the event a success.
“It was really nice seeing the kids play with the toys they worked so hard on,” she said. “Kids love stuff like this, anything different and new is great.”
The event was filled with art, including face painting and colored sand jar making.
After distributing the toys, the Leppos played with the children.
“I’m really excited to see the fruits of our labor,” said Sam Leppo. “The excitement, the joy, the smiles on all the kids faces – it’s really just a different experience,” Logan added.
“We’re hoping to have many more events like these,” said Sam Leppo. Their plan is to build partnerships with schools and corporations to make this possible.
“The ultimate goal is for us to build wooden toys for all the children in the United States,” said Sam.
The Leppos added that their parents have been very supportive throughout their yearlong effort to make and distribute their wooden creations and were happy to see the two pursuing their passion. They have been passionate about woodworking since they were young children.
It began with their grandfather, who taught them how to measure, cut, glue, clamp, sand and stain each piece. With this knowledge, they made 50 toys total for the event, each taking between five to 10 hours to perfect. They also said that they believed this was the best way to use their passion and wanted to make a difference in the community.
For more information, visit http://www.loganandsam.org.
