Work Builders – Dad's Blog

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and lots has happened. This last summer our family relocated from upstate NY to Knoxville TN and along with us comes Ryan’s Work Builders business. With all of the activity that surrounds moving to a new home, adjusting to a new school and finding new friends, thoughts of his Easy Builder building block business have been a little secondary but he’s still managed to fill an order here and there. His little brother Collin is excited to step in and help now too.

Today was a short school day for Ryan and that opened the door for us to find our way to a local bank where he set up a new savings account. One more step in the transition from NY to TN! After a little research online looking at banks he chose one close by that offers a “Looney Tunes” account for kids. Every so often he’ll get a newsletter just for kids and they gave him his own Piggy Bank just for opening the account.

Over the last few weeks Ryan’s been keenly focused on some new ideas, big ideas. The biggest hurdle he’ll have to overcome is cost, so he’s been churning our plans to overcome that left and right. The coming weeks and months could get a bit interesting, we’ll see.

Part of the fun in this business for Ryan and I has been to watch where his Easy Builder building block sets actually go. A while back I added a fun map to his website which shows just that, the destinations to which he has shipped the block sets.

Easy Builder building block sets have found their way to locales nationwide!

Naturally, most of his orders have been right here in the central New York area. But as you can see his orders have shipped nationwide, and not just to family either!

People have had fun showing us how much they are enjoying the block sets too. So far we have seen some photos of children enjoying the building blocks and even spotted a YouTube video of some kids opening up their Easy Builder building block sets on Christmas morning! I am not sure who had more fun, the kids opening their presents or Ryan watching them do it on YouTube!

If you would like to share your experience with Easy Builder building blocks with us please do. Send Ryan an email and let us know how the blocks are being enjoyed. We love seeing the pictures!

After saving for the last few months, Ryan’s hard earned profits had grown to the point where it seemed time to make his donation to United Way of Broome County. So, yesterday I picked him up from school and we headed over to the United Way offices here in Vestal, NY to do just that. Ryan had decided on his own long ago that he would give a full 50% of his Work Builders profits to United Way. This was his first chance to put that plan into action.

Ryan shows off his blocks for the TV cameras.

Last week I contacted United Way to let them know Ryan wanted to make his donation. They were already aware of his charitable activities supporting Toys for Tots and SOS Shelter as well as his intentions for supporting United Way once his profits accumulated. In fact they have been very supportive of everything Ryan has been doing helping to spread the word and even buying some of his blocks.

When we arrived there were already two TV camera crews there and two more would come shortly thereafter. There was also a reporter from the local newspaper who had come for the story. They took a little time to interview Ryan as best you can with a six-year-old and he shared a bit about the day’s donation and how he had raised the funds. At one point Ryan was surrounded by four TV cameras and a photographer. That was without counting me. I did come prepared with camera in hand and took a few photos of my own! Ryan seemed to take it all in stride. I was able to find the news report done by News 10 Now online. You can view the video here.

Ryan with Mr. Alan Hertel, Executive Director of United Way of Broome County.

Next Ryan got to meet Mr. Alan Hertel, Executive Director of United Way of Broome County, who was looking forward to meeting Ryan and would personally accept his donation. Mr. Hertel waited patiently as did the room full of news crews as Ryan carefully counted out the money he had brought to donate, $60.00 in all. Ryan then gave his donation to Mr. Hertel and in return received a receipt for his records. I’ll talk with him more about that later. Mr. Hertel talked with Ryan a bit about how his donation helps United Way and some of the things United Way does for our community. Before he was done, Mr. Hertel also bought a set of blocks from Ryan. A nice surprise that added to the fun.

When Ryan left the United Way offices he had a smaller stash of money in his shiny money box, but I do believe he had a bigger smile than the one he arrived with. He really enjoyed making his donation and I enjoyed watching him.

Ryan with woodworking craftsman Robert Gaube

Earlier this week I took Ryan for a ride to make a delivery of Easy Builder building blocks. Little did he know, this delivery would wind up with a personal tour through the workshop of a local woodworking craftsman.

Off we went to deliver four sets of building blocks to a customer in Kirkwood, NY not far from home. I had an idea what could be in store for us and it was not disappointing! In working out the details of when and where we could drop off the order of blocks I learned that there was a cabinet making shop on the premises.

When we arrived we were greeted enthusiastically by our customer Wendi and Mr. Robert Gaube, a custom cabinet maker of some 30 years or more. After accepting the delivery of blocks from Ryan and congratulating him for his efforts both in business and for charity, they invited us inside to see a true woodworking craftsman’s workshop. It was wonderful!

Robert gave Ryan and I a nice tour of his workshop showing us each of his tools and describing how they are used. He explained how he builds cabinets from scratch with tools we saw there and years of experience. Ryan was interested to learn how these cabinets were constructed without the use of any nails or screws to hold them together, just wood joints and some glue.

There were two things in Mr. Gaube’s woodworking shop that impressed Ryan. First was the impressive quantity and variety of clamps which could be found in almost every nook and cranny of the shop. I don’t think Ryan missed a one. Second was the item shown to the left. As Mr. Gaube put it to Ryan, “This is what woodworking can buy you if you work at it!”

I had a lot of fun with Ryan and watching him experience what a real woodworking shop would be like. For me, I would love to go back sometime and spend some time doing photography in the shop. There were tons of interesting visuals there to be captured. Wendi and Robert be warned, I may be giving you a call one of these days!

Ryan Steadman and Marine LCpl Danbach

Delayed a bit by some uncooperative weather, Ryan was able to make his second donation of Easy Builder building blocks this week. This donation was to Toys for Tots and was great fun. Toys for Tots representative Marine LCpl Danbach came to Ryan’s 1st grade classroom at Vestal Hills Elementary School, in dress blue uniform no less!

Ryan had a total of 51 complete sets of his building blocks on hand to give to Toys for Tots. In addition to that, his 1st grade teacher Mrs. Finch and the class added some more toys to the donation. The class has been following Ryan’s efforts to support charity and his teacher has used this to help teach about leadership and charitable giving. It’s been great to see Mrs. Finch and her class be so supportive, thank you! The school even added some photos from the day to their web site for all to see.

News 10 Now and WBNG News crews, on hand to capture the event

The school district had contacted local media about the donation so there was also some TV coverage of the event. This added a certain degree of excitement for the class on top of the Marine in uniform. Our cable news channel News 10 Now did a very nice story about the donation that Ryan made which you can view online from their web site.

The 1st grade class enjoyed the visit from LCpl Danbach thoroughly and they all behaved very well throughout. LCpl Danbach took time to talk with the class answering questions about Toys for Tots as well as a few about his experience in the Marines. I have to say he was quite skilled at addressing their inquiries carefully regardless of the nature of each question. It was evident this was not his first experience with kids.

The kids had some time to check out the building block sets as did LCpl Danbach. Then the TV reporters did some interviews with Ryan, LCpl Danbach and myself. Most importantly, Ryan got to make one more donation of his building block sets which made him very happy. With a smile, Ryan mentioned that it was a fun thing to know that on Christmas morning some kids somewhere would be opening a present that he had made. Then they would play with them and have fun. A nice thought indeed.

Ryan attends SOS Shelter board meeting

Today was the day on which Ryan finally got to deliver dozens of Easy Builder building block sets to charity. Ryan was invited to attend the monthly board meeting for SOS Shelter, one of the charities he decided to support by providing his building block sets as a donation.

Thanks to the help of over 100 volunteers who attended our Work Builders Block Party in November, Ryan was able to donate 51 sets of his blocks to SOS Shelter. We took Ryan and his blocks to their board meeting and the donation happened there. Before the meeting began we filled the conference table with sets of blocks for the board members to see.

Ryan was first on their agenda for the meeting so after a brief introduction Ryan opened up a set of blocks for them to see. Then the board members were all encouraged to open up a set of the blocks sitting on the table in front of them and check them out hands-on. Ryan enjoyed watching them “playing” with the blocks and they seemed to like the donation he made. A few of the board members had a question or two for Ryan and after that we were on our way.

As we headed home with the block sets left behind, I asked Ryan what he thought of the evening. He simply said that he “felt good”. I sort of felt that way too.

Ryan & Collin preparing Easy Builder building block sets for donation to Toys for Tots and SOS Shelter

It has been roughly two weeks now since the Work Builders Block Party took place and we have been busy here at home preparing to make the donations of Easy Builder building blocks. With the block party producing over 1,200 building blocks to work with, Ryan and the rest of us have been working on finishing the collection of 100 sets of blocks.

The work left to do after the block party has been to finish painting some of the blocks that didn’t get painted that day, separate the blocks into 12 block sets, package them into individual carrying bags and put on some identifying tags. With 1,200+ blocks prepared, this turned out to be more work than we would have guessed, but it is all good.

Next up is the fun part, Ryan gets to finally make his donations. He is really excited about this! I have to say that I can see it in his eyes every time he personally delivers a set of his building blocks to a customer, his eyes light up and he is delighted to see their face when they receive the blocks.

One day last week I took Ryan out after school to deliver some of his block sets to his local customers. In each case I noticed that he waited long enough to see them open the bag and check out the blocks. The more they liked them, the more excited he was. He is truly enjoying this.

Ryan preparing blocks for donation

But back to his donations. This week he will be making donations to both Toys for Tots and SOS Shelter. On Wednesday a Marine Staff Sergeant will be coming to Ryan’s first grade classroom to receive Ryan’s donation of 50 sets of Easy Builder building blocks for Toys for Tots. Then he will be making his second donation to SOS Shelter on Thursday. When all is said and done all 100 sets of blocks will be on their way to some deserving charities.

It is going to be a fun week and I am truly looking forward to seeing Ryan’s face when all of this comes to fruition.

A great day for Ryan and his charities!

What a great day it was for our family! On Saturday (Nov. 21) we held Ryan’s Work Builders Block Party and everything went great. We had over 100 people attend and help with our project. By days end we finished over 1,200 building blocks which would fill out more than 100 complete sets of Easy Builder building blocks for charity!

We are so grateful to Binghamton University for providing a place for our event to be held and to the Binghamton Circle K student volunteer organization in particular, who supported our effort as university sponsors for the event. Without Circle K’s sponsorship we would not have been able to hold the event on BU campus.

The room was bustling with activity all day long and the energy was great. We had volunteers helping out from all age groups and all backgrounds. There were many Binghamton University students, Vestal Elementary School students and parents, Cub Scout members, professional colleagues, family friends and many others who heard about the event and made the time in their schedules to come and help.

Ryan was so energized that it was all we could do to get him to take a moment to eat a sandwich. He was busy showing people how to do the painting then took over moving hundreds of blocks to and from the outdoor painting area.

Collin hands out stickers!

His younger brother Collin spent the entire day greeting everyone who attended, giving them stickers and big smiles. If you were here on Saturday it is a good bet Collin “stickered” you before you left.

Over the next few days or week perhaps, we will be packaging all of the 1,200+ building blocks into the Easy Builders cloth bags in preparation for donation to Toys for Tots and SOS Shelter. I have been in touch with both of these charities and they are thrilled and look forward to our donations. Doing that will be great fun and I am looking forward to seeing the look on Ryan’s face when he gives them his building block sets. It is what he has been working towards all along.

There are so many people to thank for helping to make Ryan’s vision become a reality it is hard to know where to begin. But here are a few I would like to mention in hopes I am not leaving anyone out.

• Binghamton University
• Binghamton Circle K student volunteer organization
• 3i Graphics
• The Write Strategy
• Lowe’s Home Improvement
• The Johnson Family
• All volunteers/participants who attended!

At some point of the day during the Work Builders Block Party on Saturday Ryan came to me quite happy and said, “Daddy, I want to do this again… next week!” Well, we can’t quite manage something like that, but maybe again next year, who knows.

Early on in the process of building his start-up business, Ryan told us that he wishes to support charity and he has remained steadfast in that mission ever since. Since then he has identified three charities to support in various ways, two of which he wishes to support by making a direct donation of his building blocks.

After contacting these charity organizations to learn if they will accept hand-made toys and if so how many, we learned that the answer to those questions in both cases was a solid yes and “as many as you can provide”. This begged the question, “How many can we provide?”

Between the two of us we had an idea of what we could produce but we wondered if there might be a way to do more. So we talked and brainstormed together to try and figure out how we could make more, lots more. The result of that brainstorming is our “Work Builders Block Party”, and YOU are invited!

The Work Builders Block Party will take place on Saturday November 21, just over one week from now! This will be a volunteer effort to make as many sets of Easy Builder building blocks as we can in one day. Everything produced on that day will go directly to charity! So mark you calendar for November 21 and please plan to come. We need all the help we can get!

Between now and that date I will be cutting at least 500 wood blocks to have on hand for the project. The task for the day will be to sand the sharp/frayed edges so children will not get slivers and to spray paint them different colors that kids will enjoy. It is an easy task really, so bring a friend and spend a little time with us helping charity.

Our plan on Saturday Nov. 21 is to have a large window of time where you are invited to come and participate. You are welcome and encouraged to come for as much time as you can share whether that is 20 minutes or 3 hours. The final details of location and exact hours for the project are being finalized currently and I hope to have all of that information available to you very soon.

A lot of people have expressed interest in helping Ryan and I along with this project for charity. Now is the time so please plan to come to our Block Party, help us make some building blocks to go to kids this holiday season!

If you are planning to help us on Nov. 21st please drop us a note via email and let us know you are coming. If you have a group that might be interested in getting involved then please let us know as soon as possible. We’d love to have you there with us!

If the turnout seems good I may have to cut more blocks for the day. That would be a great problem to have! So continue to watch this blog and Ryan’s Web site for more details as our plans are finalized.

One other way someone may be able to help…

If you know of anyone who might be in a position to help with providing materials for this growing charity project, I would be grateful for help of that nature. As the scale of this seems to be growing so too does that side of the equation. The spray paint and the sanding tools (sanding blocks, sand paper) are the greatest expected expense. Please email me if you have any leads in this regard. Thank you!

Ryan displays Easy Builders for class

Today Ryan was a guest speaker for the Introduction to Entrepreneurship class at Broome Community College, a SUNY school here in Binghamton, NY. The course instructor, Laura Knochen-Davis, had learned of Ryan’s start-up business and invited him to speak to the class.

Ryan and I had put together a presentation of visuals for the class which showed a bit of the story of how Ryan came up with the idea for Easy Builders and how he produces them. While the images displayed on the screen Ryan talked to the class and described what was presented. He then showed his Easy Builder building blocks to the class in a variety of colors and fielded questions.

Greg Tally, Dean of Business School, BCC.

Ryan was a bit shy to get started which didn’t surprise me but once things got going he did very well. A surprise for both of us was that there was a special guest in the room to see Ryan’s presentation. Mr. Greg Tally, Dean of Business and Public Services, came to see what Ryan had to say and he also presented Ryan with a Certificate of Appreciation and a small gift (always a hit with 6yr olds!).

Thank you Laura for inviting us to speak for your class. They were a very good group and wonderful for Ryan as a first time speaker. Thank you also to Dean Tally for taking the time to come and hear Ryan’s presentation and offering the recognition gifts. We had a great time and another learning opportunity for Ryan was a hit for us at least!

On a side note, it served as reminder to me that Ryan is truly a six year old boy, that his singular focus as we left the building after speaking for the class was that he wanted to go around the corner on campus to the Ice Center (ice rink facility) and play with the “pile of snow” on the ground outside the building. Many snowballs were gleefully tossed into the air before we left for home. Thanks for the fun evening!