Cardboard arcade helps homeless youth

Ethan and Maddox, twin brothers in Marietta, have headed back to school, but they spent their summer creating a cardboard arcade that brought to life some classic arcade games.

“They love to build things, and at the start of the summer, they built a “This or That” box and then a Skeeball game,” said their mom, Jennifer Slaughter. “They started brainstorming ideas for other games and quickly decided they wanted to build much more. Over the summer, the boys worked to transform our basement into a cardboard arcade.”

The idea came from a school STEM project based on a short film calle d, “Caine’s Arcade,” which tells the story of a nine-year-old boy who built a cardboard arcade that became a global phenomenon.

The boys built 18 games in all and while they thought it would be a fun place for their friends to come and play all of the classic games, the family decided to raise money for a nonprofit group called Lost-n-Found that focuses on youth homelessness in Atlanta.

The nonprofit provides food and shelter, helps youth get off the street, find a job and a way back on their feet.

After invitations were hand delivered, the event took place recently at the arcade. The idea was to collect $10 donations to play in the arcade as a “drop in” event for 20 minutes. Each child would win prizes at the end of their time and they were entered into a draw- ing for a chance to win one of two bigger prizes.

More than 40 people (par- ents and kids) attended and then 12 more the following day. As word got out, the family received donations towards their cause. More than 70 people attended over a two-week period.

The boys raised $574, which will provide food and shelter for seven youth for two weeks.

The community can support Lost-n-Found in vari- ous ways. People can donate home goods and clothing to its thrift store, serve as men- tors, organize dinners and events for its housing program or help support the youth center.

While the arcade event is over, the response from the community is overwhelm- ing. Ethan and Maddox are already making plans for their next event — a cloth- ing drive for the winter they plan to call Save Cold Kids.

Information: https://lnfy. org/

Ethan and Maddox Slaughter give Audrey Krumbach, of Lost-n-Found, the money raised during their cardboard arcade fundraiser for the nonprofit that supports youth homelessness. The fundraiser raised $574, which will provide food and shelter for seven youth for two weeks.