Gamers Outreach and ASUS Renew Partnership to Support Accessible Gaming for Kids in Hospitals Nationwide
Returning as the Gamers Outreach monitor sponsor for 2021, ASUS will provide monitors for GO Kart video game kiosks for an additional 200 hospitals within North America
Fremont, CA (March 17, 2021) — ASUS today announced its third consecutive year of partnership with Gamers Outreach as the organization’s official monitor sponsor for 2021, with ASUS kicking off the sponsorship by providing monitors for an additional 200 GO Karts to be delivered to children in hospitals across North America. Gamers Outreach is a for-purpose charity organization that provides equipment, technology, and software through its GO Karts and other programs to help kids cope with treatment inside hospitals through the power of interactive and accessible play. ASUS also served as a returning sponsor of the annual Gamers for Giving streaming marathon and fundraiser, which took place virtually on March 20-21, 2021 on the official Gamers Outreach Twitch channel. The weekend-long competitive gaming tournament and streamathon featured various guest streamers, including the ROG Stream Team, and helped meet this year’s fundraising goal of $500,000 which goes directly toward providing entertainment devices to hospitalized children.
“We’re so grateful to work with the team at ASUS to make video games readily available in hospitals,” said Zach Wigal, Founder of Gamers Outreach. “The monitors provided by ASUS ensure kids have high-quality gaming experiences and enable us to allocate our resources towards better serving families.”
GO Karts (Gamers Outreach Kart) are portable, medical-grade video game kiosks equipped with a gaming console, monitor, controllers, and an assortment of games. Thanks to GO Karts, healthcare workers can easily manage and provide games to kids who have limited activity options. Currently deployed across more than 200 hospitals, Gamers Outreach estimates that its collective fleet is supporting upwards of 2.5 million play sessions within hospitals annually. Learn more about Gamers Outreach at https://gamersoutreach.org/.
“Gamers Outreach has made tremendous strides over the years in creating a community of gamers that go above and beyond to give back to hospitalized kids, their families and healthcare workers,” said Zachary Butera, Brand Marketing Manager at ASUS North America. “With our shared passion in fostering positive, inclusive experiences through technology, we’re proud to partner again with Gamers Outreach to raise awareness and ultimately work toward empowering more children in hospitals with the power of play.”
Gamers Outreach Empowers Hospitalized Children Through Video Games
Founded in 2007, Gamers Outreach started as a group of high school students with a passion for playing video games. A long-time user of ASUS and Republic of Gamers products, founder Zach Wigal and his team built up Gamers Outreach throughout high school and college. After spending six months in 2009 volunteering at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gamers Outreach built its first GO Kart. The first cart was frequently used by Mott’s staff, and kids who were unable to socialize or participate in therapy now had easy access to recreation. Zach and the Gamers Outreach team also witnessed the wide variety of ways video games are used within hospitals as a means to provide relief. Whether it be for distraction, socialization, or even education, there are a range of purposes that games can serve within medical environments.
Gamers Outreach has since evolved into a nationwide community of gamers working to make a difference for kids in hospitals and their families through initiatives like GO Karts and events like Gamers for Giving. Since Gamers Outreach’s inception in 2007, the organization has brought GO Karts to over 200 children’s hospitals across North America. Gamers for Giving has also become one of the largest independent LAN parties in North America and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund Gamers Outreach programs year-to-year.
Gamers for Giving 2021 Returns as an All-Virtual Event for its 13th Year
The annual Gamers for Giving fundraising marathon returned for a 13th consecutive year, taking place virtually on March 20-21, 2021 via the official Gamers Outreach Twitch channel. In addition to returning as a sponsor for the event, ASUS and the ROG Stream Team also participated in raising funds alongside other guest streamers. During the course of the weekend, Gamers Outreach is aimed to raise over $500,000 to fund GO Karts and other programs to support hospitalized children and their families.
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About Gamers Outreach
Founded in 2007, Gamers Outreach is a 501(c)(3) charity organization that provides equipment, technology, and software to help kids cope with treatment inside hospitals. We aim to inspire and heal patients through the power of interactive play.
About ASUS
ASUS is a multinational company known for the world’s best motherboards, PCs, monitors, graphics cards and routers, and is ranked by Laptop Mag as the best laptop brand in 2020. Along with an expanding range of superior gaming, content-creation and AIoT solutions, ASUS leads the industry through cutting-edge design and innovations made to create the most ubiquitous, intelligent, heartfelt and joyful smart life for everyone. With a global workforce that includes more than 5,000 R&D professionals, ASUS is driven to become the world’s most admired innovative leading technology enterprise. Inspired by the In Search of Incredible brand spirit, ASUS won more than 11 awards every day in 2020 and ranks as one of Forbes’ World’s Best Regarded Companies and Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies.
PRESS CONTACTS
Beca Truong
Public Relations Manager, North America