Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Canosa.
Hi Eric, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Mind Bubble really began back in 2010 when the organization’s cofounder, Dr. Dan Peterson, and I got to know each other while volunteering for a tutoring program. We had a great time working with the students there and formed a friendship over our mutual interests of board games, creative writing, and community service. Life took us on different paths for a while, with Dan and his wife moving to Atlanta and me moving to Texas to become a middle school science teacher. But years later, I coincidentally ended up moving to Atlanta as well, and Dan and I shared our experience looking for volunteer opportunities in Atlanta around his dinner table one night.
We wanted to volunteer for an organization that was open to all students – not just kids who lived in a certain neighborhood, attended a certain school or performed at a certain level academically. We were looking for a light-hearted organization that accepted volunteers from all walks of life and didn’t pressure students or volunteers to participate, rather inviting them to attend whenever they were willing and able. We wanted something fun that fit with our schedules and gave us the opportunity to meaningfully connect with learners. Though we had both scoured Atlanta for the right volunteer opportunity, neither of us had found it. So we decided to create the organization that we wanted to volunteer for!
Five years later, we are delighted to volunteer for the organization we co-founded, Mind Bubble, alongside hundreds of great tutors from around the metro Atlanta area and beyond. It has been quite the journey going from an idea we had at Dan’s kitchen table to a growing 501(c)(3) non-profit, but we’re loving every minute of it and looking forward to our plans to grow Mind Bubble and connect more students with great learning opportunities!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think starting a non-profit is ever really a smooth road, but we’ve encountered a lot of joy and fulfillment along the way! Some early challenges included getting all the elements of our program in place, like lining up venues for tutoring and educational workshops, establishing a volunteer pipeline, and recruiting students to participate in our programs. Once we had a strong pilot program in place, attracting funding to scale the program up was a new challenge and one we confront every year as the program grows. And, of course, adapting an in-person program to a virtual format when COVID-19 started was a challenge as well, but one that has opened exciting new doors for us in the online programming space!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At Mind Bubble, we believe that games raise grades, so we play a variety of board, card, and roleplaying games with our students. It’s a great way to foster warm relationships in our learning community and to promote critical thinking skills and social-emotional growth in our students!
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
If you’re just beginning to form a new non-profit organization, you’ll eventually have to build a Board of Directors. I recommend figuring out who will serve on your founding board *before* you initiate your programming. Find at least five well-established professionals to support your mission before you get started. Their insights will be tremendously valuable as you design your programs and they can help you fundraise some seed money, too!
Pricing:
- All our programs are 100% free!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@mindbubble.org
- Website: https://mindbubble.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindbubbleatl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindBubbleAtl/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindBubbleAtl
