Child's Play

If you're a gamer, and you've not yet heard of Penny Arcade, I suggest you stop reading this now and go there. (But come back) They're a great group of folks that are really into gaminig and surprisingly (to many) are really into charity as well.

They started up an organization called "Child's Play". It's a charity in which gamers give back and show the world that we're not mindless violent antisocialites. I can't support them this year, as we're paying for a wedding. But I'd like to make this an annual event for me in the future. I don't give enough to charity, I readily admit. What better place for me to start? So, as funds are tight maybe I can help in other ways. For instance, by getting the word out about it because I think it's a very worthy cause.

Straight from the horses' mouth, as it were:

"Here’s the deal.

For three years now, we’ve set up and organized a charity called Child’s Play. We set it up because we were angry the media decided to blame all the world’s problems on games and gamers. Basically they said that gamers were bad people, and we thought that wasn’t right. Apparently, you guys agreed: through Child’s Play you sent over a million dollars in toys, games, and cash to the sick kids in children’s hospitals around the world.

That was awesome. You guys have proven over and over again that you are an overwhelming force, and you really came through and made a real difference to the millions of kids that children’s hospitals care for each year. So we’re doing it again this year, only this time we’ve expanded Child’s Play to more hospitals around US and the globe so you can send toys to a hospital a little closer to home.

Child’s Play works the same as last year. With the help of hospital staff, we’ve set up gift wish lists full of video games, toys, and movies. You can go to each hospital’s list and buy a toy, and that toy will be sent to the hospital. Some of these kids are in pretty bad shape. Imagine being stuck alone in a hospital over the holidays, getting something from a fellow gamer would really raise their spirits. Some of the stuff the hospital will give away for kids to keep, while other gifts (like consoles) will be kept by the hospital for patients to use throughout the year.

We are arguably the largest community of gamers on the internet. The important word there being community. We are not a faceless corporation and you are not just a number tracked by a database and then relayed to hungry advertisers. You guys have proven yourselves to be a powerful force when stirred into action. Here is your opportunity to use that power to do some real good."

That's it, people. 'Tis the season...