Charity can change lives.’Tis the season to be giving, but these gaming charities and organizations contribute all year long to improving, enhancing and impacting the lives of others. Gamers have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others by doing or supporting via their passion: Gaming.
As fans of the game or players ourselves, we can all identify and relate to the power of gaming. Whether its the thrill of a kill, the sense of accomplishment in a victory, the bonds of teammates, gaming has given each of us a place to submerge ourselves on our best and worst days.
Through the use of video games and esports, lives can be transformed. Bringing a sense of normalcy, community, hope, improved quality of life and connections gaming has the ability to transcend unfortunate circumstances and limitations.
We’ve featured some of the gaming charities, including a way for everyone to become involved.
Gamers Outreach: Helping others to level up
Gamers Outreach is charity organization that provides equipment, technology and software to help kids who are receiving long term treatment in hospitals. The focus is to support normalization, improve quality of life and decrease trauma associated with inpatient hospital stays. By equipping nurses and child life specialists with a way to bring video games and technology into the rooms through the “GO Kart Program”, Gamers Outreach helps through the power of video games and the gaming community.
Starting as a group of high school students hosting video game tournaments, they began to donate profits to charity. They then moved on to building their first “GO Kart” (Gamers Outreach Kart) – a portable, medical-grade gaming kiosk nurses could use to transport video games and entertainment to children who were unable to leave their rooms within the hospital.
The organization has now been able to boast, supporting 78,840 children per year.
Undergoing medical treatment can often be a scary and isolating experience, especially for young people. There is a special need for age-appropriate coping tools in pediatric hospitals. Our programs help aid the healing process by providing relief, socialization, and a sense of normalcy to families and patients spending time inside hospitals.
Make a difference:
- Donate money to help build more carts and ensure games are accessible
- Start a fundraiser to support a hospital of choice
- Fundraise on stream
- Donate Games
- Register to volunteer for various openings
- Purchase a tee-shirt to promote and support the organization
- Invest in a corporate sponsorship
- Advocate and bring awareness by downloading and using the branding assets
Child’s Play Charity
Child’s Play seeks to improve the lives of children in hospitals and domestic violence shelters through the generosity and kindness of the video game industry and the power of play.
Since 2003, Child’s Play has been dedicated to improving the lives of children with games and toys in over 100 hospitals worldwide, raising $40,218,286 since then. They currently have partnerships with almost 100 hospitals in the US, 9 in Canada, 13 internationally.
Child’s Play works in two ways. With the help of hospital staff, we set up gift wish lists full of video games, toys, books, and other fun stuff for kids. By clicking on a hospital location on our map, you can view that hospital’s wish list and send a gift.
Child’s Play also receives cash donations throughout the year. With those cash donations, we purchase new consoles, peripherals, games, and more for hospitals and therapy facilities. These donations allow for children to enjoy age-appropriate entertainment, interact with their peers, friends, and family, and can provide vital distraction from an otherwise generally unpleasant experience.
Make a difference:
- Plan your own event. Add your event to the Calendar and download the Donation Widget to funnel donations directly to the organization.
- Donate directly through paypal
- Donate to a specific hospital. Selecting a specific hospital on the facility map, donations can be made through the Amazon wishlist, purchased and shipped directly to the chosen location.
- Request a corporate sponsorship
- Purchase tee-shirts, gift cards or tickets to the 2015 Auction Dinner
Extra Life
Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Since its inception in 2008, Extra Life has raised more than $22 million for local CMN hospitals.
The money that you raise through Extra Life will go directly to your chosen Children’s Miracle Network Hospital as ‘unrestricted funds’. This means that the hospital decides where and how to spend the money to ensure the dollars you raise make the biggest impact in the lives of the kids they treat. For example, the money you raise will go to fund research and training, purchase life-saving equipment and pay for uncompensated care. Our hospitals treat every patient that comes through their doors, regardless of the family’s ability to pay. Our mission is to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible and the funds you raise make it possible for our hospitals to do that!
Make a difference:
Register and choose a hospital to support, ask family and friends to donate to your fundraising efforts, then play for 24 hours.
Donate directly
Special Effect: The gamer’s charity
SpecialEffect is a gamer’s charity organization that aims to bring video games back into the lives of those affected by physical disabilities. The organization uses technology, modified devices, video games and occupational therapists, to bring about positive changes.
The organization has helped hundreds of people through various programs such as:
“Our mission is to enable anyone, whatever their physical disability, to enjoy video games, leisure technology and communication. But we’re not just doing it for the sake of fun. By giving people the means to participate, we’re kick-starting rehabilitation, inclusion and confidence.”
Make a difference:
Games Aid
GamesAid is a UK based video games charity which acts as an umbrella to support a number of smaller charities who help disadvantaged and disabled children and young people.
It is the only fully democratic charity in the games space where members of the games industry propose and vote for the charities of their choice annually. Funds can only be raised for Registered Charities and are most likely to be small-to-medium sized, rather than the better-funded larger ones.
Funds will predominantly be used to support children’s charities in the UK, with limited application for overseas causes; for education, health, housing and social welfare. Funds may also be deployed for career guidance and sport. Where possible, there will be some form of technology/interactive play element, but that is not a funding stipulation.
Make a difference:
AbleGamers
AbleGamers is a non profit charity that aims at improving the overall quality of life for those with disabilities through gaming. Using a three-step approach of outreach-consulation-grants, the organization works and advocates for those with disabilities to have increased accessibility to video games and become more inclusive of those with special needs.
In 2016, AbleGamers have raised $152,250 thus far.
We enable people with disabilities to achieve a greater quality-of-life through the power of video games. Our Grant Program purchases expensive assistive technology for gamers with disabilities when families can’t afford it and insurance companies refuse to help. Our Accessibility Arcades showcase demonstrations of cutting-edge AT in libraries and universities across the country where individuals with disabilities can try each device for themselves to help find the right combination of technology for their individualized needs without going through an expensive, and often expensive trial and error process. Our practical set of game accessibility guidelines called Includification have been vetted as the best resources for game developers to create accessible environments open to people of all abilities without the need for technology. Our efforts reach far and wide with many more programs all aimed at giving individuals with disabilities the greatest experience anyone can ask for in a video game.
Make a difference:
- Apply to become a volunteer
- Purchase various products such as clothing, plushies and dice
- Donate directly
Operation Supply Drop
Operation Supply Drop was founded in 2010. The organization brings Veterans and Civilian Supporters together serving US, NATO and ANZAC veterans via 3 primary programs: The Teams, Supply Drops & Thank You Deployments.
Operation Supply Drop is devoted to bridging that gap and bringing military veterans/civilians together. The Teams help create a stable environment, create networking opportunities, and finally create a support mechanism for veterans/civilians in times of need. This has already been proven to be a vital program and we look forward to it’s continued growth.
The Supply Drop Program assembles care packages sent to veterans deployed as well as those in hospitals or to military installations across the world as way to boost morale for those serving as well as their families. This program also applies to allies as well as the US veterans. Care packages are filled with games, products, apparel.
The Thank You Deployment Program Sends veterans to various events across the world with a civilian counterparts. It is structured to create a shared experience which develops a relationship lasting beyond the event and into the growth of The Teams program.
The Teams Program are locally based chapters of Veterans and Civilian Supporters, working together to directly address lowering veteran suicide, depression, homelessness, and unemployment.
Make a difference:
Humblebundle
Humblebundle Is an online store with the collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and the rest split between the game developers.
The Humble Bundle offerings support a number of charities, including Child’s Play, Special Effect, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, charity: water, and the American Red Cross.
By October 2015, the total charitable amount raised by the Bundles exceeded $65 million across 50 different charities.
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