By Any Media Necessary: Mapping Youth and Participatory Politics

Caine's Arcade and Imagination Foundation




"The more personal your story is, the more universal it is."
- Nirvan Mullick, Spreading Your Story Webinar

Throughout the summer of 2011, 9-year-old Caine Monroy accompanied his father to their auto parts shop in East LA. An avid arcade player, Caine made use of leftover cardboard boxes to start building his own arcade in his father's storefront. The simple idea turned into an elaborate cardboard game set, complete with tokens, prizes, and business cards. At the end of summer, Nirvan Mullick became Caine's first customer when he bought a $2 fun pass for 500 plays. Taken by this young entrepreneur, Nirvan asked Caine's father permission to make a short film about Caine's Arcade. He created a facebook event and shared the idea online to invite more customers to play at Caine's Arcade. On the day of shooting, a large crowd (with a larger online following) had gathered to surprise Caine. 

Once Nirvan's film hit the net in April 2012, it went viral and created a wave of financial support for Caine's Scholarship Fund and inspiration for children's creativity everywhere. Due to the overwhelming global response, Caine's Arcade led to the development of the Imagination Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to "find, fund, and foster creativity and entrepreneurship in kids around the world. Along with the Global Cardboard Challenge, Caine's legacy has now spread to countless schools, communities, and countries, and inspired creative youth and educators all over.

Themes
By Any Media Necessary
Voice and Influence

Find out more about Caine's Arcade at their website, facebook page, and following the project @CainesArcade. To learn more about Nirvan Mullick's work, check out his website.

Nirvan quote about listening to your community OR measuring success by engagement

For more on how Caine's Arcade turned from a film to a movement, watch Caine's Arcade Part 2:

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