Imagination.org Proves That a Little Cardboard Can Go a Long Way
For filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, the day began with an errandāto stop by a used auto parts shop in East LA for a door handle. For 9-year-old Caine Monroy, it started with getting his cardboard arcade open and ready for business in front of his familyās shop. It was a chance encounter that would turn into a viral video and the documentation of how a small act of kindness and a spark of creativity can transform into an incredible blaze, benefitting millions. This was the beginning of Imagination.org.
When Mullick met Monroy and saw the ingenuity and raw creativity of his cardboard arcade, he knew he had to share it with the world. Mullick spoke with Monroyās father, the owner of the used auto parts shop, and began to interview and film for a 10-minute video called āCaineās Arcade.ā That Sunday, Mullick filmed the last portion of the video: a flashmob to come and play at the arcade, which resulted in a wave of overwhelming support across the internet as well as in LA itself. Shortly after the film was published, it went viral.
āWhat was unexpected was the response to the film,ā Mullick says. āI got thousands of emails from parents and teachers showing me pictures of kids starting to make arcades out of cardboard after watching the movie…asking, āWhat can we do to foster their creativity?āā
Unlike some humanitarian efforts, Imagination.org wasnāt a lifelong vision; it was the result of pure kismet, and a few days after Mullick saw the publicās reaction to āCaineās Arcade,ā both in views and in outreach, he ādecided to try to make a non-profit to support more kids like Caine and make creativity a core social value [and] really foster the creativity in every child.ā
Fate continued to work in Mullickās favor; the then-unnamed effort began receiving grants, and the organization blossomed. āWe didnāt have any programs at the time, and now we have multiple,ā he explains. āOur first program was the Global Cardboard Challenge, which invited kids around the world to make anything they could imagine with cardboard, and then on the anniversary of the flashmob we did for Caine, [we started] Global Day of Play, [which prompted communities to have] flash mobs for their kids who were building things out of cardboard.āĀ
Thereās no doubt how impactful these programs have been. Since Imagination.org started Global Day of Play in 2012, they have had over one million kids participate.
The organization was also starting to get noticed. āWe started getting invited to speak and share our story at conferences and various events for different companies,ā notes Mullick. And it was at one of these conferences where Vans heard their story.
ā[Vans was] thinking about their first International Checkerboard Day to really foster creative expression,ā Mullick explains. The two companies found a connection through cardboard, and their partnership led to an incredible event, which premiered on Nov. 21, 2019, as well as a jaw-dropping donation of $1 million. āThat million dollar grant is going to really help us go to the next level with all of our programs,ā he says.
āIt means over 100 new chapters in countries around the world, including China, France and for kids in refugee camps,ā Mullick continues. ā[And] weāll be expanding our upcycling materials through our Trash 4 Teaching Division and our STEAM Programs.ā But it doesnāt stop there. Imagination.org plans to launch a program where the organization will team up with retailers to add a āReImagineā symbol on their boxes āthat will invite kids to reimagine the box before they recycle it.ā
Imagination.org has an endless stream of ideas on how to benefit the lives of children around the world that parallels the spirit of that creative little boy in āCaineās Arcadeāāand it should! Monroy, now 17, is still a big part of the organization and wears the official title of Junior Board Member, serving as a reminder that a little ingenuity goes a long way.
āItās really about the combination of imagination and creativity,ā Mullick says. āImagination is the ability to dream up something that maybe hasnāt existed before, and creativity is the ability to actually create what you imagined.ā
Mullick keeps this sentiment close to Imagination.orgās mission and future goals. āWhat we want is to raise this next generation and give them the creative confidence to build the world that they imagine,ā he explains, ābut then also raise the next generation of problem solvers who can help us imagine the world that we can build together.ā Caineās Arcade
Interested in supporting the cause? āConnect with us on social media, share our story (āCaine’s Arcadeā Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube), share our free programs with parents and educators in your community and tax-deductible donations to help us bring these programs to underserved kids and communities worldwide.ā
Imagination.org
@imaginationfdn Caineās Arcade
Written By: Jordan Nishkian
Photographed By: David Alonzo Hernandez Caineās Arcade
Born and raised near the Pacific Coast, Jordan Nishkian is a California girl through and through. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a BA in Creative Writing and a BA in Anthropology, and her favorite place to be is curled up in a comfy chair with a book in her hand and a pen in her hair.
- Jordan Nishkianhttps://localemagazine.com/author/jordan-nishkian/
- Jordan Nishkianhttps://localemagazine.com/author/jordan-nishkian/
- Jordan Nishkianhttps://localemagazine.com/author/jordan-nishkian/
- Jordan Nishkianhttps://localemagazine.com/author/jordan-nishkian/