From a Classroom Doodle to a Real Nonprofit
The Story of Potato Swimming
Potato Swimming began with a random doodle. One day in class, I finished my assignment early and was bored, so I started drawing. I made a wavy line with an oval on top. When my friend asked, “What is this?” I blurted out, “Potato Swimming.” That was the moment it all started.
How it started
At first, I made a few more drawings for fun and gave them to my friends. Soon, all the boys in my class were asking for Potato Swimming drawings. The girls weren’t into it—until the day everything changed.
A class - Divided
In math class, our teacher asked, “What’s something you wish was never invented?” A girl said, “Potato Swimming,” and chaos broke loose. The boys defended Potato Swimming while the girls argued against it. Nobody was doing math, and the teacher had to stop us.
Our teacher finally said, “If this keeps being a problem, I’m not letting Joseph (me) use school paper to draw these anymore!” I went home, grabbed my own paper, and kept drawing. That’s when I had the idea to turn Potato Swimming into something more.
The Birth of Potato Packs
I remembered seeing collectible card packs, like Pokémon, where you get random cards in each pack. I thought, “What if I made Potato Swimming packs?” I designed six types of potatoes, from common to super rare ones, and printed them out.
The next day at school, I gave the packs to my friends. The boys loved them! Soon, kids from other grades and even teachers wanted them. Potato Swimming started spreading all over the school.
A school wide Phenomenon
The demand for Potato Packs became so big that I had to ask my friends for help. They became my “employees,” sorting packs, organizing lines, and keeping everything running smoothly. I even made them special shirts to thank them for helping.
Then things changed. The Assistant Principal decided we couldn’t wear the shirts anymore because they might make other students feel left out. It felt like Potato Swimming was being shut down just as it was taking off.
Instead of giving up, I asked myself, “How can we make this work?” I realized that if Potato Swimming became an official school club, everyone could join and nobody would be left out. With support from my teachers, I proposed the idea, and Potato Swimming became an official club. At our very first meeting, over 100 students showed up.
Solving Problems and Growing Bigger
As Potato Swimming got more popular, teachers noticed kids were leaving wrappers everywhere at recess. To fix this, I started a raffle where kids could write their names on wrappers for a chance to win prizes. Suddenly, everyone wanted to save wrappers instead of throwing them away.
Making a Bigger Impact
That summer, I wanted to use Potato Swimming to help others. I came up with the idea to make potato plushies and donate them to the police. The officers suggested turning them into “Ride Alongs,” stuffed potatoes that could travel with them in their cars. The officers would take photos of the plushies’ adventures and later give them to kids in need.
Each plushie had a special name like Chip, Tater, or Spud, and we even had them blessed by my priest. When I brought the plushies to the police station, they loved the idea and called in more officers to hear the story.
Helping the community
When school started again, I wanted to use Potato Swimming to help others. During our school’s food drive, I offered a free Potato Pack for every three cans donated. The idea caught on quickly, and donations almost doubled. It showed me that something fun could inspire people to make a real difference in their community.
Meeting the Superintendent
After the food drive, I wanted to thank our superintendent for the way he encouraged students across the district. I created a superhero Potato Swimming plushie with a cape because he often visits elementary schools to read books to kids. I gave it to my principal to deliver to him.
A few weeks later, my principal pulled me out of class and told me the superintendent was coming to our school to meet me. He hadn’t visited our school in decades!
When he arrived, I shook his hand and shared the story of Potato Swimming—from a simple classroom doodle to the cards, the club, and the community projects. He said he was impressed by everything Potato Swimming had become, and it was an unforgettable moment that showed me how far one small idea could go.
Building a Nonprofit
As Potato Swimming continued to grow, I realized something important. What started as a silly drawing had become much more than a joke between friends. Every time I used my creativity—whether it was designing Potato Packs, making plushies, creating raffles, or finding fun ways to encourage people to help others—I saw that a simple idea could make a real difference.
That made me wonder: What if other kids have ideas like this too?
I thought back to my goal of recognizing students who quietly make a difference in their communities. Even though my award idea never happened, the dream behind it never went away. I wanted to create something that would not only recognize those students but also give them the resources to turn their ideas into reality.
That’s why I started the Potato Swimming Foundation.
I wrote a business plan, completed the paperwork, and officially formed the nonprofit. Today, the foundation awards grants to students in kindergarten through 12th grade to help them bring their own community service projects to life.
Our mission is simple:
To inspire kids to use their unique talents, passions, and creativity to serve others by providing grants that turn their ideas into meaningful acts of kindness and community impact.
Potato Swimming taught me that everyone has different gifts. Mine happened to be creating funny potato cards that brought people together. Someone else’s gift might be art, music, engineering, sewing, cooking, building, or organizing people. Whatever that talent is, it can be used to make the world a little better.
My hope is that the Potato Swimming Foundation helps thousands of students discover that same lesson: your greatest ideas can become someone else’s greatest blessing when you choose to use them for good.
The Story's Still Being Written.
Every grant, every project, every kid who applies adds the next chapter.