This weekend gamers played their favourite games to raise money for charity. You may be asking yourself, how can one raise money by playing videogames? Well my friend Extra Life is a fund raising campaign that supports hospitals by letting gamers do what they do best (play games) to help sick and injured children all around the world. All you have to do is sign up for free, commit to playing for 24 hours straight (which sounds easy, but isn't), and ask your family and friends to support your efforts by donating.
Extra Life was inspired by Victoria Enmon, a Leukemia patient that touched the lives of everyone including the founder of the program Jeromy Adams.
Since 2008 thousands of gamers have joined together to save the lives of local kids in a celebration of gaming culture. The figure below shows the growth of the campaign since its inception and players around the world have raised more than $22 million dollars, $8 million of which was raised in 2015 alone.
This year different teams including Kinda Funny, Rooster Teeth, Reddit and many others that participated and streamed their gaming marathons for Extra Life and so far they have raised over $6.5 million. Below are some of archived streams from some of the teams.
Cross Counter TV
Giant Bomb
Rooster Teeth
Extra Life is just one of the many ways people use games to help people. Another way you can help is by donating your old gaming systems or board games to your local children's hospitals. Many children may be confined to their beds. Therefore, videogames can help them escape from the psychological and physical effects of their treatment as it helped Steven Gonzalez beat cancer. Videogames really is a unique form of media. #4TheKids
But what do you think about Extra Life and videogames in hospitals? Can they really make a difference in a child's road to recovery? Please leave your comments below.
- MaxPayneV3 -
Yes, I think that it makes a difference in the child's recovery because at that moment in their life's where they cant be/do everything like other normal kid they can still do one thing and that's play videogames which in return takes their mine off the fact that they're ill and also make them feel like they fit in with their peers and are still connected to that world outside of there hospital.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. It can really help in taking their mines off the things they're going through.
DeleteThat's so awesome, helping kids by just playing games
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on yr blog....all the best Henry.....
ReplyDelete