Gaming for Good: Extra Life

Gamergate has dominated the conversation around the gaming world. I don’t want to get into the topic again other than to say how disappointing the entire thing has been for myriad reasons. Alex here at the site wrote a solid post about #Gamergate and the surrounding events. With the amount of negativity around the videogame space right now, I wanted to highlight something positive in gaming.

Extra Life began as a charity event and organization that raised money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The event was originally created to honor a young girl named Victoria Emmon, who unfortunately lost a battle with leukemia in 2008. The event grew in scope over the years and eventually partnered with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to benefit children all across the United States and Canada. In 2013, over 38,000 gamers participated in the event to raise nearly 4 million dollars for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. That’s amazing! So how does this all work?

To participate you need only sign up on the Extra Life website and gather the support of your friends and family through tax-deductible donations to your local CMN Hospital. Then on Saturday, October 25th, 2014, play any game(s) you want on any platform(s) that you want with anyone you want for as long as you want. Personally, I will be gathering a small group of friends as we attempt to play videogames and board games for 24 hours. There will be epic amounts of junk food, a fair amount of retro-gaming, and I will probably need a new prescriptions for my glasses afterward, but that’s ok because we’ll be doing it all “For the Kids,” as the Extra Life slogan says.

All the money I raise will be going to a local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital that made a huge impact in my life when my younger brother was treated there. Extra Life is a fantastic event and organization that shows the amazing good that gamers can do when they rally together for a great cause.

For more information about Extra Life, visit their homepage at www.extra-life.org and their about page here.

Look for a live blog of my day participating in Extra Life here on Saturday, October 25th, and if you feel so inclined check out my donation page here.