Tis Always the Season to Support a Good Cause — Gaming for Charity
From special gaming events specifically organized to raise money for a number of different charities, to non-profits aimed at making gaming accessible to everyone, gamers are giving back in a big way. Over the past decade the video game community has mobilized to promote giving and awareness for numerous children’s charities, as well as support non-profit groups that aim to improve quality of life and inclusion through video gaming.
A number of game-based organizations raise funds via a special events like game marathons and speed runs. Think of it as a 5k or walk-a-thon, only your fingers do the walking via your keyboard or controller. Gamers sign up to play through or speed run (playing through a game as quickly an efficiently as possible) games and event attendees can pay to watch or donate at certain points. Games Done Quick will host their 17th event in the DC area this January — the group has raised over $8 million for charity via gaming marathons. Extra Life has raised $22 million for the Children’s Miracle Network by connecting gamers across the globe for a network of 24-hour local events. A number of Let’s Play and Twitch streamers (like Markiplier and GameGrumps) do live stream games for charity as well.
Another facet of game-based charities are groups focused on bringing gaming to those that wouldn’t normally have the experience. Child’s Play provides video games and systems to children in hospitals and domestic violence shelters. Since 2003 they’ve raised over $40 million through auctions, special events, streams, and negotiating direct donations from game and console manufacturers. Ablegamers works and advocates on behalf of the disability community to increase the accessibility of video games and to achieve further inclusion by those who need special considerations. In particular, they work with developers to make games and hardware more inclusive for all abilities through their Includification guidelines. In the UK Special Effect provides people with physical disabilities the means to game through finding unique combinations of specialized technology.
The gaming community is finding a sorts of ways to help those in need. The Humble Bundle allows gamers to buy a bundle of games for a price they determine themselves, with a portion of that going to charity. Humble Bundle has raised over $65 million across 50 different charities. GamesAid coordinates a number of charity events and activities for gamers and people inside the gaming industry across the UK.
So how can you get involved? Most of organizations of listed above have online stores, donation pages, and list of events. Additionally, most can receive a donation via a portion of your ordinary shopping through Amazon Smile. Share them on social media, volunteer at a convention, or watch a charity stream. You really CAN make a difference with a controller in your hands!
(** Did I miss a group that’s using games to make our world a better place? Link it below!)
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