Global Cardboard Challenge

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the remarkable story of a 9-year old boy, Caine. You may have seen the short film that made him famous: Caine's Arcade.

The story is a testament to the power of creativity and reminds the viewer of the ingenuity and imagination that all kids have. We need to provide kids with the opportunities to tap into this power.

The filmmaker of Caine's Arcade raised enough money in one day to pay for Caine's post-secondary education. That effort has spiralled into The Imagination Foundation, that hopes to share this good work with kids everywhere.

Even if you are not interested in the fundraising part of it, there is the creativity, and anyone can participate. It's called the "Global Cardboard Challenge". There are events all over the world. I dedicated two days in my grade 10 and 12 art classes this week to present my kids with the Cardboard Challenge.

It was interesting to see how even at high-school age, accessing creativity was a challenge. The kids are so used to technology and art equipment to get inspired about a project. The task of creating something with nothing but cardboard, tape, string, and some toothpicks- was different and took them some time to get into it. But eventually they did, and we had some fun and produced some great results (above) with a material that is reused, recyclable and free.

Next year I am planning to host a bigger community event for the Cardboard Challenge...