Nancy Arch’s (Middle Tennessee Alumni Chapter) passion is cosplaying and she uses it as a creative way to bring joy to others. “I was young when I started wearing costumes. It wasn’t called ‘cosplay,’ it was called Halloween,” she explains. It wasn’t until later when Arch was the one handing out candy instead of receiving it that she really got into cosplaying. Her favorite actor was going to be at a con (short for “convention” - an event where like-minded people gather to celebrate favorite fandoms) called DragonCon, which is one of the five largest cons in the U.S. “If you aren’t in costume, YOU look out of place. I pulled ideas from my Halloween days and decided to do a random Zombie and an original Steampunk character.”

What Arch found after that first con experience was that cosplay is a community. “My favorite part of cosplaying is meeting new people,” she explains. “The costume becomes an instant conversation starter. It’s interesting to hear about someone else’s costume. I learn new techniques and materials and get a chance to teach others the same.” However, not all cosplay groups or clubs are inclusive as some require expensive parts or have strict rules. Therefore, Arch decided to co-found a new group in 2012 in Tennessee called Cosplay Collective.

“We designed Cosplay Collective for everyone to have an opportunity to participate and experience giving back to the community,” explains Arch, “Some of our members make all their costumes and props, some buy it all and some pull items from their closets and create a character.” Cosplay Collective currently has about 100 active cosplayers that consistently attend events throughout the year and about 2000 members in their Facebook community.

So what does Cosplay Collective do? “When we started Cosplay Collective, we knew we wanted to do charity,” says Arch, who takes cosplayers to schools, libraries, hospitals, nursing homes, charity walks/runs and more where they take pictures and bring joy to participants. “Our first hospital visit was to the local Children’s Hospital during the holiday season. We had a small fundraiser for toys and we were able to bring those toys to the kids in our costumes.” Now, they have so many volunteers that they do hospital deliveries for two days so that all cosplayers have a chance to participate and the whole community, including local businesses, gets involved in donating the toys. “We welcome all volunteers who want to put smiles on faces and have fun,” says Arch. They are currently actively working on obtaining a 501Ic status to become a non-profit organization.

Cosplay Collective maintains a strong relationship with the hospital as they continue to send cosplayers to them year-round. They are also asked from time to time to bring particular characters for certain kids who may be going through a procedure or chemotherapy. “One such young girl had her birthday in the hospital,” says Arch. “We were able to have her three favorite characters come join her party. They played, took pictures and ate cake with her. When she had to return to her hospital room, we heard her say to her mother, ‘That was the best birthday ever.’”

During the day, Arch works in the office of Palliative Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She says “I am amazed everyday at the care and concern the providers in our department show to patients and their family.” Arch is able to carry that same attention to those in need through Cosplay Collective and has led discussions on the benefits of imagination and play for pediatric care and the improvement in patient mood for hospitalized adults with character play. Matt Peachey (Beta Psi Chapter ‘02, MTAC) says that “[Arch] has helped create a program that truly embodies the ideals of our Tripod from a simple idea.”

You can also find Cosplay Collective at various cons where they take on a different role. “We offer a Cospitality Suite for cosplay repairs,” explains Arch. “Murphy’s Law dictates that your costume or prop will break right before the contest. When we are able to make the repair for someone and get them back to the contest we feel like real life superheroes.” They have also been asked to speak about how to get started in cosplay and using cosplay for a cause during panels at cons.

Some of the upcoming cons that Cosplay Collective will be at include:
Middle Tennessee Anime Convention: March 30 - April 1, 2018 (Nashville, TN)
Clarksville Con: April 21 - 22, 2018 (Clarksville, TN)
MomoCon: May 24 - 27, 2018 (Atlanta, GA)
Hypericon: July 6 - 8 (Nashville, TN)
Heroes and Villains: May 12 - 13 (Nashville, TN)

Currently, Cosplay Collective operates mainly in Tennessee, however, if a Member or Chapter would be interested in starting a Cosplay Collective group in their area, Arch welcomes you to reach out via their Facebook page. You can also Like that page to follow along with everything that Cosplay Collective is doing in their community, get cosplay tips and support their organization.