Child's Play
Child’s Play 2009
It’s that time of year again. Child’s Play is gearing up for another run.
For those that don’t know, Child’s Play is a charity started by those wacky Penny Arcade guys because they felt that gamers were getting a bum rap and wanted to show the world that we’re a nice bunch of people. And with people like Jack Thompson running around it’s nice to have such a public way to be able to prove him and others wrong.
The beneficiaries are children’s hospitals. You can donate cash (they accept Paypal) directly to the charity, but if you donate toys, games or movies via one of their Amazon wishlist links you can choose which hospital to donate to. Either way you can get a tax receipt.
They’ve got hospitals in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Egypt. The items on the wishlists start at only a couple of bucks.
Over the years Child’s Play raised over $5,000,000 dollars for sick kids. It’s pretty much the expectation now that they’ll raise $1,000,000+ each year, so here’s to the previous high score of $1,400,000 getting beat this year!
If you’re interested in donating, or want to know more, head over to ChildsPlayCharity.org, or read the below quotes taken from both the Penny Arcade site and the Child’s Play site:
It’s back! The ultimate in friction-free, ultra-lightweight charity engines is here, ready to transform the slightest movements of your finger into much-needed respite for young people. Here’s what’s up:
We’ve got New Hospitals this year, a tender cross-section of facilities you’ve directed us to over the past year. Focus your Charity Beam on Dayton, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Boise, Memphis, or (for Canadian readers) Victoria, Ottawa and St. John’s. The Sponsors you see on the main page have gotten the ball rolling to the tune of two-hundred and sixty thousand dollars. Not a bad take before the thing even starts, huh?
Don’t forget our annual Charity Dinner and Auction, which is reliably fun, productive, and delicious. We’ve also spun up a Twitter feed (@CPCharity) to keep you up to speed with the community’s unstoppable charitable assault.
Source: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/11/6/
11-02-09 Child’s Play 2009 is Under Way!
We wrapped up the 2008 drive in January with an amazing 1.4 million dollars worth of donations. Many thanks to everyone who helped make that possible!This year, we’re proud to be adding seven new hospitals in the States and Canada to the Child’s Play network, so please have a look at the map to see if your local children’s hospital has come on board. Every hospital has a wish list full of gifts, and is hoping for your support. If you would like to learn more about getting a new hospital involved, please contact us to find out how.
We’re starting off the drive with a healthy total, thanks to the year-round support of the gamer community. Supporters have held gaming marathons, dinners and other fundraisers to get us started, and if you have a Child’s Play event that you would like us to add to our Event Calendar, please let us know.We’ve also seen incredible support already from corporate and group sponsors. Many thanks to Harmonix, Microsoft, Wizards of the Coast, Amazon, MTV, The Bohemian Foundation, Sony Online Entertainment, the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the Super Mario Marathon, Penn State University, the Multiplayer Marathon, Internet Brands Inc, BenHeck.com, 8 Bit Vintners, Nerdapalooza, There.com, Google, and LoadingReadyRun for their support.
Also returning for 2009 is our annual charity dinner auction on Tuesday, December 8th, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. More information and ticket sales will be available soon!