At this year’s Gamers for Giving, we’re raising $350,000 to provide entertainment devices to hospitalized children. Please consider supporting our efforts by making a donation. 

It’s been 10 years since we hosted the first Gamers for Giving.

Wow – where does the time go!?

Since the founding of our event in 2008, Gamers Outreach has grown into a community of video game enthusiasts eager to make a difference for hospitalized children and their families. Hospitalization can often be a lonely, isolating, and scary experience – especially for young people. We’ve seen it firsthand, and we’re doing everything we can to ease those burdens. Our intent is to inspire and heal patients through interactive play.

Thanks to the generosity of our fellow gamers, we’ve had the opportunity to work with hospitals nationwide. We’ve noticed healthcare professionals face two primary challenges:

• Many hospitals are not equipped with entertainment devices that make gaming content readily accessible to patients (e.g. consoles, controllers, monitors, games, etc.)
• When technology is present, it can be difficult for hospital staff to manage entertainment due to a number of factors (unfamiliarity with equipment, existing responsibilities, ease of mobility, etc.)

Gamers for Giving generates funding in support of two initiatives we believe help produce joy and minimize trauma for patients, while solving the above challenges:

Project GO Kart: Gamers Outreach constructs portable, medical-grade video game kiosks called “GO Karts” (Gamers Outreach Karts). These kiosks enable nurses to easily provide bedside activities to children unable to leave their rooms in hospitals. Each GO Kart is equipped with a gaming console, monitor, and assortment of games. The carts provide a safe, flexible, and efficient way to ensure kids have access to entertainment and coping mechanisms during long-term hospitalization. Each unit also has an internal lift mechanism, which allows healthcare staff to adjust the GO Kart to a patient’s bedside, accommodating a variety of medical scenarios which may limit a patient’s mobility.

Player 2: Player 2 is a program where gamers have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they’ve acquired through gaming in a manner that supports patients and staff within hospitals. By volunteering, gamers become “digital activity managers” and serve by managing equipment, providing tech support, and playing games with patients. Many hospitals receive game donations, but without proper staffing to manage inventory at a mass scale, it can become difficult for tech donations to properly serve patients as intended. Player 2 helps address this issue by ensuring knowledgeable individuals are present to distribute technology and exercise its positive benefits.

So how much progress have we made?

At this time last year, Gamers Outreach programs maintained a footprint in 19 hospitals nationwide. We estimated as many as 105,000 patients were benefiting annually from initiatives like Project GO Kart and Player 2.

As of this blog post, we’ve more than doubled our list of supported hospitals, and quadrupled our capacity to support patients.

Gamers Outreach initiatives exist in 42 facilities across the United States. Collectively, our presence of deployed GO Karts (157 units) has the ability to support as many as 452,600 patients per year.

What’s more: we’re still in the process of expanding. In 2018 (thanks to support from Child’s Play) Gamers Outreach programs will exist in nearly 200 facilities across the U.S. and Canada!

As you can see, the next several months will be quite busy for our team, and much of our growth can be attributed to Gamers for Giving. But even with the dramatic expansion of supported patients, we’re barely reaching the incredible volume of children hospitalized annually. Each year, millions of kids are treated across hundreds of hospitals around the U.S. alone. We want to help them all!

Gamers for Giving 2018 is going to help us make steps to do just that. With your support, we can help ensure all children going through hospitalization have access to modern forms of recreation. It’s going to take the collective effort of the gaming community to make a difference in every single hospital nationwide. Here’s how you can get involved:

• Fundraise: We recently built our own fundraising platform which allows gamers to stream in support of Gamers Outreach programs! You can start a general fundraiser, or even rally your community to construct GO Karts for a hospital of your preference. Not a streamer? No sweat! You can still use the platform to reach out to friends, family, or colleagues in support of the big weekend’s goal! Create your first fundraising campaign here. Need artwork for your stream? Download our logo and Twitch banners here.
• Donate: Any amount helps! Donations can be made on the front page of the Gamers for Giving website, or by visiting www.GamersOutreach.org/donate.
• Watch: Gamers Outreach will be streamed live all weekend on our Twitch channel, and with help from a variety of streamers in the gaming community. Be sure to check out our Stream page for all the details!
• Spread the Word: Unable to make a donation, but still want to be involved? Help spread Gamers for Giving hype on social media! You can use the hashtag #GFG2018 to help promote this year’s event and encourage friends to get involved.

Whether you’re streaming from home, or joining us at the EMU Convocation Center, we look forward to having you be a part of this year’s efforts! And remember, all contributions are being matched by our friends at PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds up to $350K! There’s never been a better time to help make an impact.

We’ll see you on April 28th & 29th! Let’s help others level up!

Information and registration for this year’s Gamers for Giving can be found on the event website, located here.

It’s not every day you have the chance to meet a six-foot-eight international gaming superstar (and two-time Blockbuster champion) with a 37 inch vertical leap. But then again, there’s only one individual in the Twitch universe who carries such esteemed credentials – and it’s none other than Dr. DisRespect.

Last summer, broadcasters from across the gaming community took part in a charity invitational hosted by the developers behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). The event, which brought together 128 Twitch streamers from Europe and North America, was a celebration of PUBG’s incredible success and the gamers who’ve supported its development.

One of those streamers was Dr. DisRespect, (Guy Beahm) whose community of viewers helped construct two GO Karts for Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego.

GO Karts (Gamers Outreach Karts) are portable video game kiosks built specifically for medical environments. Healthcare professionals are able to use GO Karts as a way to provide bedside activities to children unable to leave their rooms in hospitals. Each GO Kart is equipped with a gaming console, monitor, and assortment of games. The carts provide a safe, flexible, and efficient way to ensure kids have access to entertainment and coping mechanisms during treatment.

We estimate an average of 8 patients benefit from a single GO Kart per day. Collectively, the two units donated by Guy and his viewers could support as many as 5,840 children annually.

As fans ourselves, it was wonderful to welcome Guy and his family into the hospital environment. During our visit, we had the chance to share how these units will make a difference for patients, and hear from staff on how gaming plays a role in healthcare.

We’d like to express our immense gratitude to the #ChampionsClub, who made the delivery of these units possible through contributions during last year’s invitational. And of course, it’s hard to find words that do justice to the the generosity of PUBG Corp, who have continued to be incredible advocates for our programs and children facing hospitalization.

Firm handshakes, everyone.

For any of our supporters who cover gaming news: we’ve just pushed out the official Gamers for Giving 2018 press release!

Taking place on April 28th and 29th, we’ll be chasing down a $350,000 fundraising goal in support of providing entertainment devices to hospitalized children. Incredibly, that amount could double with help from our friends at PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

If you’d like to cover this year’s Gamers for Giving, you can direct inquiries to our general email address – contact@gamersoutreach.org.

We hope to have you with us on April 28th & 29th! This year’s press release can be found below…

Gamers Outreach Foundation’s 10th Annual Gamers for Giving Fundraiser Sets Sights on Raising $700,000 for Hospitalized Children

Community donations and sponsor matches will help bring video games and recreation to hundreds of thousands of kids undergoing hospital treatment

MICHIGAN – April 10, 2018 – Gamers Outreach Foundation, (Gamers Outreach) a 501(c)(3) organization, today announced its 10th annual Gamers for Giving fundraiser event. Taking place at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center on April 28th and 29th, Gamers for Giving will bring together hundreds of video gamers, streamers and esports pros for a LAN party to help raise funds that provide hospitalized children with in-hospital recreation through video games. This milestone event is sure to be the organization’s biggest success, with a goal of raising $350,000 that could double to $700,000 thanks to a sponsor-matching commitment from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

Through the fundraising achieved at Gamers for Giving, the organization constructs portable, medical-grade video game kiosks called “GO Karts” (Gamers Outreach Karts) that provide equipment, technology and software to help hospitalized kids cope with long-term treatment. Through these GO Karts, children can play video games, watch movies, or socialize with friends and family who are outside the hospital. GO Karts currently support children in more than 40 hospitals throughout the country, with expectation to be in nearly 200 hospitals by mid-2018.

“I’m proud we’ve created an event that empowers the gaming community to make a positive difference,” states Zach Wigal, Gamers Outreach founder. “We anticipate as many as 800,000 hospitalized patients benefiting from initiatives like Project GO Kart annually across the country. Ten years ago it all started as a bunch of high school kids who just wanted to play Halo. What a wild ride.”

Gamers for Giving will stream live at Twitch.tv/GamersOutreach and feature tournaments for PUBG, Overwatch, League of Legends, CS:GO, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Starcraft II, Halo 5, Call of Duty WWII, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Notable video game community members in attendance will be live streamers GoldGlove, MsVixen, VernNotice; and esports personalities Walshy, SirScoots, and Goldenboy. For a full list of streamers in attendance, please visit this webpage: gamersforgiving.org/streamschedule.

Anyone can participate in Gamers for Giving by making donations through the stream or hosting their own fundraising campaign through the Gamers Outreach fundraising portal: fundraise.gamersoutreach.org.

###

About Gamers Outreach

Gamers Outreach is a 501(c)(3) charity organization that provides recreation to children in hospitals through the power of video games and the gaming community. Hospitalization can often be a lonely, isolating, and scary experience for young people. Gamers Outreach eases those burdens by providing equipment, technology, and software that help kids cope with long-term treatment. More information can be found at www.GamersOutreach.org

About Gamers for Giving

Gamers for Giving is a weekend-long competitive gaming tournament, LAN party, & streamathon that raises money in support of Gamers Outreach programs. Ticket sales and donations help provide entertainment devices to hospitalized children. More information can be found at www.GamersforGiving.org

That special time of year is quickly approaching – Gamers for Giving 2018 is just under 4 weeks away! And in case you missed the news, the developers of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will be MATCHING all community donations up to $350K!

While LAN seats are entirely sold out, passes still remain for those who wish to compete in our console tournaments for Halo, Call of Duty, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. All tickets are sold through our friends at LANFest, and can be purchased here.

Our team is busy working behind-the-scenes to ensure this year’s event is an incredible experience for everyone – those attending in person, and those watching online.

Between now and the big weekend, we’ll be rolling out a number of announcements related to our fundraising plans, special guests, and how you can support the cause! Be sure to check the Gamers for Giving website frequently, as we’ll be publishing multiple blog posts per week leading up to the event.

We look forward to seeing you on April 28th & 29th at the EMU Convocation Center!

Applications can be submitted here.

Exciting news, fellow gamers! GAMERS OUTREACH IS HIRING!!

Gamers Outreach Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that helps thousands of children in hospitals across North America benefit from the power of interactive play through our programs. As witnesses ourselves, it’s clearly evident digital recreation helps create a sense of joy and relief for children receiving treatment. Video games make a tremendous impact within healthcare facilities.

We believe the stories of patients deserve to be shared.  By doing so, we hope to raise awareness of the needs hospitals face, the battles being fought by children and their families, how technology makes a difference, and ways for communities to get involved.

To lead this effort, Gamers Outreach is seeking a seasoned Content Marketing & Social Media Director to join our crew.

This is a hybrid role that requires a mix of skills. The ideal candidate will develop and execute strategies to attract supporters and inspire actions that grow the impact of Gamers Outreach programs within hospitals. This person will report to the Executive Director and develop unforgettable campaigns that shed light on patients, hospital staff, and the role of entertainment in healthcare facilities. The person who fills this role will oversee the entirety of our digital presence including our website, social media channels, email, marketing automation, display, affiliate SEM, and SEO.

We’re looking for a high energy team player who is capable of working autonomously to materialize our vision through the power of story. This is a remote position.

Sound like the perfect role for you? Read below for the specific responsibilities! We’ll be accepting applications from March – May, with the intent of beginning interviews in late May, and hiring in June / July.

Role: Content Marketing & Social Media Director

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic development and implementation of all digital communication solutions.
• Design and implement digital marketing campaigns focused on awareness, audience growth, and conversion.
• Bring Gamers Outreach programs to life through story. Work with hospitals, patients, and their families to share the impact of technology in the healthcare setting with a sense of joy and dignity.
• Create and manage media content across all social channels. Recruit and manage content teams responsible for collecting photo / video assets for use in marketing materials.
• Develop and own quarterly content planning calendar for all website and key social media posts. Monitor, listen, and respond to community across social channels. Maintain a regular publishing schedule and implement a content editorial calendar with consideration to organization-wide events and program implementation.
• Provide quarterly report recapping key metrics and events, illustrating how content correlates with program growth.
• Utilize data and social analytics to effectively engage supporters and refine campaigns.
• Become the “voice” of Gamers Outreach. Maintain a communication tone that connects with both gaming enthusiasts and healthcare professionals.

Must-Haves

• At least 5 – 7 years of hands-on digital marketing experience
• Strong interpersonal and communication (written and oral) skills with the ability to work well cross-functionally and interact with internal / external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success managing and growing social channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.) for brands and/or consumer goods companies.
• The ideal candidate is a video game enthusiast with a passion for making a difference in the world. This person believes in the cause of Gamers Outreach.
• Experience as a content creator or managing creative teams (photographers, agencies, graphic designers, videographers) to develop asset libraries that can be leveraged for effective messaging.
• Solid expertise in all areas of marketing strategy development including customer targeting, brand strategy, integrated communications planning, brand and corporate partnerships, campaign measurement and optimization, digital and social media strategy and analytics.
• Ability to travel 15% – 25% of the time (domestically)
• Strong understanding of technology and software pertinent to the role.
• Preference for a candidate that has experience with nonprofits.

Skills

• You take initiative.
  You see something that needs improvement and you take action. You propose solutions to problems. You have a proven ability to plan, lead, implement and track marketing projects from concept through implementation. You’re proactive about making sure various departments have the information they need about your projects. You work well autonomously.
  
• You know what you’re doing.
  You’re a born marketer with a proven track record managing a high performing marketing function. You’re a true marketing generalist with a broad range of hands-on experience. You have a strong understanding of the online marketing ecosystem and a deep understanding of all online marketing channels (e.g. email, marketing automation, social media, display, affiliate, SEM and SEO). You can handle just about anything that comes your way.
• You’re a communications ace.
  You know that the secret to success is keeping people in the know. You not only know what to communicate but when, how and why it’s important. You possess exceptional interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
  
• You’re big hearted.
  You take pride in being a do-gooder and live with a sense of altruism in your personal and professional life. You have a genuine concern for others and want to make the world a better place.
  
• You’re a leader.
  Community leadership and participation (both online and offline) are integral to the success of this role. An essential component of this role is communicating the Gamers Outreach brand and those we represent in a positive, authentic way.

Benefits
Working at Gamers Outreach comes with a variety of benefits! While we’re open to working with contractors or agencies to fill this position, full-time employees can expect the following:

• Retirement
  • 401K and Employer Match
• Healthcare 
  • Dental & Vision
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Employer-paid Life Insurance
  • Employer-paid Short & Long Term Disability
• The Anywhere Office
  • Unlimited vacation policy. Just make sure your work is done!
  • Paid Holidays
  • Work Remotely
• Weekly Staff Gaming Session
  • Gaming day every Wednesday afternoon with co-workers.
• Sabbatical
  • After 4 years employees are encouraged to take a 4 – 6 week paid sabbatical to pursue their personal goals or learn new skills. 
• Pet / Child Friendly
  • Boarding / Babysitter expense account when traveling for Gamers Outreach.

Best of luck to all applicants! We look forward to reviewing your submission!

Applications can be submitted here.

During last year’s Gamers for Giving, Twitch streamer summit1g helped raise more than $50,000 in support of providing entertainment to hospitalized children. To date, it’s the most a single broadcaster has generated for our cause, and even more astonishing to know it was all accomplished in a single day of streaming!

As many of our readers are aware, our preference is to give donors the opportunity to support hospitals in their own backyard. Coincidentally, it just so happens Children’s Hospital Colorado (local to summit1g) oversees one of the largest networks of pediatric facilities in the nation. A serendipitous match for a fleet of GO Karts.

Our team was thrilled to exercise the resources generated by summit1g and his viewers. Thanks to the contributions from his community, we were able to construct 15 GO Karts for patients at Children’s Hospital Colorado. We estimate ~8 kids per day benefit from a single GO Kart. It’s possible this donation could impact as many as 44,000 patients annually!

It was our honor to have summit1g join us for a special dedication at the hospital, where we had the chance to learn how video games make a difference in the lives of patients. The hospital was thrilled to accept this contribution, and intends to spread these GO Karts across multiple facilities where they’ll be of use to patients for years to come.

The deployment of these units marks a new record for “most GO Karts delivered” at a single time, and given the size of Children’s Hospital Colorado – they have use for every one.

Our deepest thanks go out to summit1g and his community of viewers. His involvement with our cause has inspired our team. We’re so grateful to him and his supporters for making a positive impact in the lives of children facing hospitalization. These GO Karts will be of tremendous benefit to kids receiving treatment. We’re proud knowing the gaming community is capable of rallying together in such a powerful way. Thank you to everyone who donated or helped spread the word. GG WP!

Gamers rejoice across the land! Registration to participate in Gamers for Giving 2018 has opened!

All tickets are sold through our friends at the Intel LANFest series, and can be purchased here.

Gamers for Giving 2018 will take place on April 28th and 29th at the EMU Convocation Center. This year, we’re chasing down a $350,000 fundraising goal to provide recreation and therapy to hospitalized children across the country. Specifically, a large portion of the funds raised will go towards constructing GO Karts – portable video game kiosks which are used to ensure patients have access to bedside activities during long-term care. At this very moment (thanks to fundraising throughout 2017) we’re in the process of delivering GO Karts to nearly 200 pediatric hospitals across the country – but there’s still so much work to be done!

Gamers for Giving funding will also help us expand the presence of our initiative Player 2, which empowers gamers to support families and staff undergoing treatment within hospitals. The initiative currently exists within C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, and Rady Children’s Hospital – but we hope to expand the program to between 2 – 5 more facilities in 2018.

Eager to help us reach the goal? Donations can be made on the front page of the Gamers for Giving website. You can also stream in support of Gamers Outreach by creating a fundraising campaign!

Here’s a full breakdown of the passes available to purchase:

• General BYOC LAN Seat:
  $35 EARLY BIRD Online (register before Feb 12th) 
  $45 Online (for registration after Feb 12th)
  $55 at the DoorPurchase this ticket if you would like to participate in the BYOC LAN. This ticket also grants you entry into all of our headline PC tournaments. As an attendee, you’ll bring your PC / console and have a dedicated space to play video games with fellow attendees for the entire weekend! Internet / 2 power outlets are provided with each seat. We’ll also be supporting a variety of casual PC game servers for leisure-play. Check out the LAN Party section of the website to see a list of things you’ll want to bring. Tickets sold online after February 12th will cost $45. Tickets at the door will cost $55.

• VIP LAN Seat & Sky Loft:
  $125 Online | $200 at the Door
  
  Purchase this ticket if you would like to participate in the BYOC LAN as a VIP. This ticket includes a number of extra benefits, including…
  • Access to the Gamers Outreach Sky Loft: The Sky Loft is a hospitality lounge with privileged views of the arena floor, set aside as an area for guests, partners, and streamers. Premium food items and beverages will be served in a relaxing atmosphere, overlooking the entirety of the Gamers for Giving venue.
  • Extra Table Space: VIPs receive an extra foot of table space.
  • Early Access to the Venue: VIPs will be able to set up their rigs before the doors of Gamers for Giving open.
  • Gamers for Giving T-shirt: VIPs receive a Gamers for Giving t-shirt as part of their purchase!
  • Skip the Check-in Line: VIPs will be able to bypass the check-in line the morning of Gamers for Giving.

• Halo Team Pass:
  $160 Online | $200 at the Door
  
  Purchase this pass to compete in the Gamers for Giving 2018 Halo 5 tournament on Xbox One. This team pass grants a total of 4 players + 1 coach with access to the event. Only 1 member from your team needs to purchase this pass for your group. Team information will be collected when you check-in at the event.

• Call of Duty Team Pass:
  $160 Online | $200 at the Door
  
  Purchase this pass to compete in the Gamers for Giving 2018 Call of Duty WW2 tournament. Tournament will be hosted on the PlayStation 4 console. This team pass grants a total of 4 players + 1 coach with access to the event. Only 1 member from your team needs to purchase this pass for your group. Team information will be collected when you check-in at the event.

• Super Smash Bros. Melee Player Pass:
  $20 Online | $30 at the Door
  
  Purchase this pass to compete in the Gamers for Giving 2018 Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament on GameCube. This pass grants 1 player with access to the event.

As usual, press and spectators will be able to access Gamers for Giving for free! If you are a parent accommodating a minor, a member of the press, or you’re someone who just wants to come and check out the event, you’ll only need to visit the spectator check-in desk when you arrive.

Be sure to help spread Gamers for Giving hype by tweeting us with the hashtag #GFG2018! We hope to see you on April 28th & 29th at the EMU Convocation Center!

Jim Weller (second from the right) is the Assistant Director of Patient Experience at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), and we recently had the chance to sit down and discuss the benefits of video games for children in hospitals.

Jim has worked in hospitals his entire life, and is the founder of Charity-Gaming – a nonprofit organization that help kids stricken with illness feel like normal kids by providing an escape through video games. Charity-Gaming provides handheld gaming systems to patients to make their hospital stay more comfortable. Bonus feature: the patients actually keep the systems!

Our partnership started when Jim was looking for a video game cart to purchase for SIUH. His research led him to Gamers Outreach – and after a bit of fundraising, Jim managed to construct two GO Karts for patients at the hospital! Most recently, Jim’s organization placed three more GO Karts within nearby facilities in New York, bringing his total number of GO Karts constructed to 5 units.

Another strong motivator for Jim was his own experience seeing his father treated at the hospital. Jim’s goal is to ensure every patient at every hospital has access to video games. There are many benefits to having video games accessible at the bedside, including building math skills and inspiring creativity with games like Minecraft. Video games are powerful developmental tools for kids to build critical thinking and, we believe as does Jim, that the full potential of this has not been tapped. With the help of video games, Jim notes an upswing in not only patient happiness, but hospital staff happiness as well as the parents of the patients.

We look forward to working together with Jim on our combined quest to provide access to video games to every child being treated at a hospital.

With the new production process complete, it’s now cheaper and more accessible than ever to build a Gamers Outreach Kart (GO Kart)!

Not familiar? GO Karts are portable video game kiosks built specifically for the medical environment. Each unit is equipped with a gaming console, monitor, and assortment of games. GO Karts enable nurses to easily provide bedside activities to children in hospitals who are unable to leave their rooms for extended periods of time. Each kart offers a safe and efficient way to ensure kids have access to entertainment.

Once constructed, GO Karts make an impact that lasts for many years. Our first GO Kart was built in 2009 and still exists in C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital! We estimate a GO Kart is used (on average) by ~8 children per day, which means a single unit could benefit nearly 3,000 patients per year!

The donor commitment for each GO Kart is $3,500 – which covers everything – the kart itself, gaming console, games, monitor, controllers, freight shipping (to any hospital in the mainland U.S.) setup, and a 2 year warranty!

Interested in building a GO Kart for your local hospital? Here are four ways you can get started:

Fundraising Platform
Looking for a way to collect donations from friends, coworkers, or fans on social media? Make use of the of the Gamers Outreach Fundraising platform! Each fundraising page can be uniquely tailored to your story. Customize your page by inserting your own fundraising video or stream (or use the default we provide). You can also add a description to your page, sharing why this cause is important to you, and asking friends for support. The goal for a GO Kart is set at $3,500, but you can also edit this amount to a custom goal (perhaps if you’d like to build multiple karts, or just generally fundraise). If you’re interested in building a GO Kart and raising funds on an on-going basis, our fundraising platform is the most streamlined way to get the job done! Once you’ve completed your GO Kart campaign, you’ll receive a congratulatory email, and one of our team members will get in touch to start the conversation about your new GO Kart donation!

Organize a Community Event
Start your own gaming event, go door to door, throw a charity soccer tournament at school, the possibilities are endless! The old school methods are tried and true. You can’t go wrong putting in some good ol’ fashioned elbow grease, and the more accessible you make your event, the easier it will be to start the groundswell of support. Sporting tournaments are a great idea – especially if you’re in middle school or high school and have access to plenty of people and simple marketing. Pick the most popular sport at your school and downsize the roster requirement to allow more teams to participate. If you want to have a football tournament, make it a 5v5 flag football tournament; if you want to have a soccer or basketball tournament, make it 3v3; or any other sport! Or maybe your school has a gaming club (if not, you should be the one to get it started!) that would have interest in helping to organize a fundraiser. The big takeaway here is this: activities help bring people together and can be a great way to raise money. You just have to pick one and get started! Contact some local businesses for sponsorship and ask for gift cards or prizes for the winners. To reduce your stress as the tournament organizer, be sure to have people enter by donating on the Gamers Outreach Fundraising platform. You won’t have to worry about collecting money, and your supporters will be able to receive individual tax receipts!

Summon Your Fellow Gamers
Through the power of streaming sites, like Twitch, you can broadcast your fundraiser to the masses! Hop on the sticks (or mouse and keyboard), and start streaming your favorite game in support of the cause. Take this to the next level by organizing a streaming marathon with your friends. We’ve had marathons last up to a full week, featuring multiple streamers in shifts, but you can play for as long or short as you’d like. Similar to organizing a community event, you can reach out to companies for donations so that your stream will be packed with giveaways and other fun activities for the viewers. Don’t forget to drop that link to your fundraising page in your panels and blast it out all over social media!

Direct Contribution
Perhaps you’re in a position to directly contribute $3,500. Sponsoring a GO Kart build or purchasing a unit for a hospital is fairly straightforward. Simply email us at contact@gamersoutreach.org letting us know you’d like to acquire a unit. We can provide you with an invoice, or you can make a straight donation on our website. Just be sure to drop us an email so we can know where you’d like your GO Kart sent! We’ll follow up with all the usual questions, and even help organize a visit with the hospital if it’s of interest! We recognize all our donors atop each GO Kart – so sponsoring a unit could be a great charity project for your workplace!

Got another idea for how to build GO Karts? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook! Thinking about getting started yourself? In the words of a famous sports company – JUST DO IT! But most importantly, GL HF. We can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish for kiddos in hospitals!

The year-end is an exciting time. It’s an opportunity for reflection, gratitude, and preparation.

I often think on our role within hospitals as a video game industry charity, and how we can be of help to patients. To that end, our purpose remains clear: Gamers Outreach exists to inspire and heal patients through the power of interactive play. By providing equipment, technology, and software to hospitals, we’re actively working to ensure children have access to activities during treatment. At our core, we’re a group of video game enthusiasts eager to make a difference.

Through the last decade of service, we’ve come to learn a lot about the healthcare environment. As our programs have expanded – and the breadth of supported hospitals has increased –  I’ve become more convinced of the incredible benefit games have in the hospital setting. I’ve also been surprised to realize how much work there is yet to be done. We’ve talked extensively about the role of video games in hospitals, and we know hospital staff turn to games as a way to provide children with access to activities. However, many hospitals still lack streamlined hardware mechanisms that ensure content is available to patients. With that, we also know it’s often difficult for staff to actively manage equipment and accessories even when they’re made available.

One of our solutions has been Project GO Kart, and the majority of our focus this past year has been on effectively scaling the manufacturing process of the carts to meet the demands of hospitals nationwide. Even while undergoing manufacturing upgrades, 2017 was a strong period of growth, and the generosity we’ve seen from the gaming community has astounded our team. Our outreach has expanded significantly in the course of the past year. In our last annual report, I mentioned Gamers Outreach programs were benefiting an estimated 105,000 children across 19 hospitals. Since then, the impact of our programs has more than doubled. At the time of this writing, Project GO Kart is benefiting as many as 236,000 patients in nearly 30 hospitals around the U.S.

What’s more, thanks to some major fundraising events and partners this year, (e.g. PUBG, Child’s Play, Gamers for Giving 2017) in 2018 we expect Gamers Outreach programs to be of service to more than 800,000 children in nearly 200 healthcare facilities.

With this expansion comes the need for increased capacity. We’re actively recruiting volunteers willing to help fulfill Gamers Outreach programs at their local hospital. For us, volunteer opportunities within hospitals take on a couple different forms:

• Player 2: Though only available in a select few hospitals, by Q2 2018 we anticipate rolling out a dedicated program page for the Player 2 initiative on our website. Through Player 2, we’ve been inviting gamers to serve as “digital activity managers.” Volunteers help solve minor tech problems, distribute software, and play games with patients. As of this writing, Player 2 exists in C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and recently launched in Rady Children’s Hospital (San Diego).
• GO Kart Race Crew: We’re looking for volunteers throughout the U.S. & Canada who can assist with regional GO Kart deliveries. As a Race Crew member, you’ll be volunteering to ensure GO Karts are fully operational once they’ve been shipped to hospitals. If you’re interested, check out the full write-up here.

As you can see, the next several months will be quite busy for our team. However, even with the dramatic expansion of supported patients, we’re barely reaching the incredible volume of children hospitalized annually. Each year, millions of kids are treated across hundreds of hospitals around the country, and we’ve realized the benefit in teaming up with other folks working in the hospital setting. In 2018, you’ll see us joining up with groups like Child’s Play and AbleGamers to extend our collective impact. Earlier in the year, we also partnered with organizations like GameChanger charity to help drive awareness of the various ways games can help in hospitals. In other words, yes – 2017 marked the beginning of the video game charity justice league, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this work with such wonderful partners.

This growth wouldn’t be possible without the help of our community. In 2016, total public support for Gamers Outreach programs tallied nearly $430,000.00. And while it won’t be formally noted until next year’s report – our 2017 revenue is hovering between $1.5 – $2 million. Funding in support of our initiatives is largely driven by grassroots contributions via the gaming community and hospital donor networks. That said, in the last year, we’ve been able to diversify our revenue streams to include a slightly wider spread of grants and program-related services. Thankfully we’ve been able to maintain fairly lean operating costs alongside this increase in resources. Our 2016 management and operating expenses accounted for less than 13% of total expenditures. For those curious, our full 2016 Form 990 can be found here.

A major driver of Gamers Outreach culture and impact is our annual fundraiser, Gamers for Giving. Through ticket sales, online donations, sponsorship, and with the help of Twitch broadcasters – more than $315,000 was generated at our 2017 event! In 2018, we’ll be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Gamers for Giving – truly a momentous occasion. It was in 2008 we hosted our first LAN party (one that didn’t get shut down by police), marking the start of Gamers Outreach programs. The event will be taking place on April 28th / 29th, and we’ll be chasing down a $350,000 fundraising goal! This will certainly be the largest fundraiser we’ve organized, and we can’t wait to chase down the goal with all our attendees and supporters online. If you’re near Michigan or feel like making the trip, we invite you to join us! Registration will open on January 26th, and information for the event will be posted on GamersforGiving.org.

From everyone at team Gamers Outreach, we’d like to thank you for your support throughout 2016 & 2017! It’s a privilege to do this work, and we look forward to making an even greater impact for children and their families in 2018!

Have a wonderful new year! We’ll see you in 2018!

Zach Wigal
Founder, Gamers Outreach