What is GISH?

I came upon the TV show Supernatural late in the game. I decided to binge watch 9 seasons on Netflix and became a quick fan. By that time, many of the show’s fans already knew of Misha Collins’ brain-child. GISH, formerly known as GISHWES, stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt (the World Has Ever Seen). Every year, participants and teams from all over the world have one week to complete tasks that are zany, outrageous, and seemingly impossible all in the name of charity. It stands by its motto, “Do good through play.” I sat here in awe of what was accomplished and never thought that it would be something I would feel comfortable participating in.

This pandemic has forced many of us, if not all, to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It has been difficult to readjust work and family life and cope with the stress experienced by my husband, my 9-year old daughter, and my 70+ year old parents. Since I follow Misha on Instagram, I saw that GISH was going to hold a 24 hour mini-hunt. I rounded up my ride-or-die girls, my friends from my college days at Loyola Marymount University (Go, Lions!) Four of them were able to join and formed our team, Team S-COVID-gers. We didn’t know what to expect. Are we going to be exposing ourselves to unreasonable pain and suffering? At some point are we going to think, “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time”? We were merged with additional team members, as we did not fill our roster to 15. We were welcomed by experienced GISHers, from Ireland, Finland, and Canada. They showed us the ropes, we had a blast, and even learned some new lingo, like “What’s the craic?!”.

In May, we stepped out on our own and recruited some other friends to join us on this journey. We did not expect for it to give us some solace and reflection during a time of unrest and social injustice. Following the death of George Floyd, many of us were hurting and outraged. The scavenger hunt items provided an opportunity to stretch our creativity, spend time reflecting on our role as an ally, or just simply give us something to do rather than watch the news.

There was one exchange with our former Irish teammate that helped inspire our new team name, WeAreGroot. As we parted ways from our former team, she said that it was wonderful that we were going to extend the GISH family. We were going to extend our GISH family tree. The GISH participants were able to collectively provide over 1 million meals to children in need, provide encouragement and meals to first responders, interact with isolated nursing home residents, bring about positive social change, and bring racial inequity and injustice issues to the forefront.

GISH is not just a scavenger hunt. I believe its meaning and importance is different for every participant. It almost is a feeling to me. Through this, I have been able to further my bonds with my friends/teammates, find new ways to cope with stress, have fun with my family and friends, and have an impact on my community. It’s a wonderful feeling . . . It’s a wonderful GISH.

-Courtney Y., Culver City, CA