This past July, Lurie Children’s Hospital brought its grand total of GO Karts in its wing to 7 thanks to the effort of its Child Life department.

Located in the Windy City, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (formerly Children’s Memorial Hospital) has more than 1,200 physicians on staff and has been treating kids in the midwest for 130 years. For a major hospital in the heart of the country, 7 GO Karts can do wonders for the team’s efforts when it comes to boosting the moods of patients and their families, or assisting with physical therapy if any injuries or ailments correspond to any of the tissue or function also used while gaming.

We were lucky enough to submit a robust lineup of possible gaming titles for patients to choose from as well, including Rocket League, Minecraft, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, NASCAR Heat, and the Mega Man Legacy collection. A wide breadth of titles means all the more adventures to choose from those who truly need it most, and we’re thankful to the teams and companies that brought them to life and continue to update them.

Special thank you also goes out to the entire team at Lurie Children’s Hospital for being so incredible to work with every step of the way — we hope these Karts bring your staff and their patients some more joy and laughter each and every day.

Since this past spring, we’ve been extremely fortunate to have a number of individuals, organizations, and corporations contribute to our dream of delivering and maintaining GO Karts in every children’s hospital in the country (and one day, the world over). From the teams at Xbox and Bluehole Inc., to Child’s Play and the Dooley family (to name a few), more children and their families have good reason to smile and laugh a little more each day due to the kindness and generosity of the aforementioned men and women. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you, that much is clear.

Anyway, you can’t really open a blog post like that and be surprised when we tell you that at The Mark on October 6th and 7th, NETWAR — the Omaha, Nebraska chapter of the national LANFest organization — will host one of its biannual BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) weekends with Gamers Outreach (and by extension, Children’s Hospital & Medical Center of Omaha) being the charitable focus of the proceedings. Tickets to this incredible 586 seat, 26 hour-long LAN are still available but hurry: If you planned on attending but haven’t registered yet, they’re going fast! Passes can be purchased online here. Have a specific question about anything pertaining to the event? Their info page is a good place to start.

For announcements leading up to the event or updates the weekend of, you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

In late July, we dropped one of the biggest announcements in the history of Gamers Outreach. In case you missed it: we’re partnering with an organization called Child’s Play to construct GO Karts for more than 120 healthcare facilities across the U.S. and Canada!

With support from Child’s Play, we’ve also been able to upgrade our manufacturing process. Fellow build-geeks will be excited to hear we’ve updated our tooling from vacuum forming to injection molding. Injection mold tools allow for higher quality finishes on plastic materials, and reduce costs associated with building large numbers of GO Karts.

One of the tools used to construct the base of a GO Kart!

To that end, we’re pleased to share we’ve nearly finished the upgraded tools, and as mentioned in the Child’s Play announcement, are currently on track to roll out the latest batch of GO Karts this coming October!

In addition to the GO Karts built on behalf of Child’s Play, we’ll also be deploying units funded by donors / streaming efforts in the last year – including karts supported by events such as Gamers for Giving and the PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS fundraiser! Collectively, more than 200 GO Karts are being constructed for hospitalized children!

This is a massive quantity of units, representing more than twice as many GO Karts as we’ve ever constructed to date! Our current expectation is to fulfill deliveries throughout the months of October 2017 – February 2018.

Interested in getting involved? We’re looking for volunteers across the U.S. and Canada to help equip GO Karts with gaming peripherals once they arrive to hospitals! Volunteer applications can be submitted here. Once we start scheduling deliveries, we’ll reach out if a unit is expected to be deployed in your area!

As always, we’re incredibly grateful to the gaming community for supporting this work in pediatric hospitals. The need for activities and recreation in these environments is massive, and we’re proud to play a role in bringing joy and relief to hospitalized kiddos across the land.

While it may be true our GO Karts currently house consoles like Xbox and PlayStation, but that doesn’t stop PC-centric companies like NZXT from wanting to help support so many of the children’s hospitals across the country that could benefit from a GO Kart.

For online purchases made from August 30th through September 5th, NZXT has pledged to donate 10% of each sale to us as part of their HUEmanatarian Labor Day Sale! They’ve slashed prices across the board in celebration of the holiday weekend, so if you’re in the market for any cases, cooling, or other PC accessories, you should definitely peruse the wide-selection available on their site.

If you pick anything up, we’d love to see it! Tweet us and NZXT a pic of what you snagged so we can witness your rig in all it’s newfound glory!

If you’re attending PAX West in Seattle, we’ll be hosting another panel this year at 4:30pm in Sandworm Theater!

For “Helping Others Level Up: How Games Support Health Care”, the topic will be centered around how video games and virtual reality have incredible therapeutic potential within the hospital environment. Those attending will learn how games can be used to support the healing process, in addition to how you yourself can make a difference at your local hospital. A list of those comprising our stellar panel can be found below:

• Aaron Greenberg (General Manager, Xbox Games Marketing)
• Erick Blandin (Community Project Manager, Child’s Play)
• J.J. Bouchard (Patient Technology Coordinator, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital)
• Carla Oliver (Director of Child Life, Children’s Hospital Colorado)
• Zach Wigal (Founder, Gamers Outreach)
• Nate Aschenbach (VR Specialist, GameChanger Charity)

If you’re able to attend the panel and curious to revisit some of the discussion, check out the content roundup we’ve created here: PAX West 2017 Panel Discussion.

Independent of the panel above, Gamers Outreach crew members Zach Wigal and Nikki-Colette Manzie will be on two additional panels: “Play It Forward (Charity and Giving Back in Games” and “How to Broadcast Safely as a Marginalized Streamer,” respectively.

We hope to see you there!

Earlier this year, Gamers Outreach founder Zach Wigal was recognized by Forbes as part of their 2017 class of “30 Under 30” honorees.

As a team, we’ve been proud to share this honor, and we’re thankful to Forbes for recognizing the work of our volunteers and donors who help us make a difference in the lives of hospitalized children.

Forbes recently dispatched a film crew to interview Zach in Los Angeles, where they had the chance to learn more about the impact Gamers Outreach programs have within hospitals. We’re incredibly proud of how the footage turned out, and feel it does a fantastic job of summarizing how games can help children going through treatment.

The video interview can be found below…

We continue to be grateful to everyone who has been a champion for the kids and families we support on a daily basis! Major thanks go out to the crew from Forbes for highlighting Gamers Outreach!

You can read the full write-up on their site, located here.

Image courtesy of PowerUp Factory

Ever since Early Access, the demand for PUBG-related merchandise has sky-rocketed alongside the game’s popularity. Recently, the game’s developer Bluehole Inc. has partnered with two online merchandise stores — Design by Humans and Power Up Factory — to provide official PUBG clothing for the community.

If you’re wondering why we’re posting about this (besides the fact the game rules and the PUBG community organized a massive charity invitational this past spring), it’s because Bluehole has decided to donate 50% of the profits from their merchandise sales to two charities – ourselves, and Game Changer – two organizations they believe are doing a wonderful job of helping kids in need of medical treatment and special care.

Shipping is available worldwide, so grab yourself some new threads as summer starts to fade and support two great charities!

Massive thanks to the team from Bluehole for being so generous. Their crew is making a tremendous impact on kids and families going through hospitalization!

Starting August 10 and continuing through the 13th, Super Smash Con will be taking over Chantilly, VA — bringing with it every tournament, panel, and cosplay contest that you’ve ever wanted (+ oh, so much more) related to Nintendo’s greatest fighting franchise – Super Smash Bros! The event is open to all ages.

If you’re interested in donating to Gamers Outreach at any point throughout the weekend, be sure to check out the campaign page! If at least $3,500 is raised, we’ll be able to construct a GO Kart on behalf of the Smash Con community! But truly, any amount helps make a tremendous difference in our quest to provide hospitalized children with access to recreation,

For those who will be at the show – be sure to visit our very own Jared Richter, who will be staffing a Gamers Outreach exhibit. You’ll also catch Jared sharing recent Gamers Outreach stories on a panel alongside the folks from Panda Global. The panel will be taking place on Sunday (8/13) around noon.

Best of luck to everyone competing, and huge thanks to the organizers of Smash Con for including us in their event!

Edit: This article was updated on August 4th, 2017 to include revised dates for the volunteer information session organized by Mott.

This is a call to action! We’re looking for Michigan-based gamers to volunteer at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital through a program we’ve been testing called Player 2!

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog articles for the last year, you may already be familiar with the program! If not, here’s a quick summary: Player 2 is a new initiative we’re piloting at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. As part of the program, gamers have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they’ve acquired through gaming in a manner that supports patients and staff within healthcare facilities. Responsibilities may include…

• Distributing games to patients throughout the hospital.
• Providing minor tech support for issues that arise with equipment (game updates, connectivity troubleshooting, installing software, etc.)
• Playing games with kids!

As a volunteer, you’ll be required to commit at least 3 hours per week to visiting with patients over the course of two academic semesters. The semesters do not need to be back to back, and scheduling is flexible. All volunteers will ultimately need to pass the hospital’s qualification process, which requires an in-person interview, background check, immunization shots, and general training to interact with patients.

While we’re specifically looking for individuals with extensive gaming knowledge, it’s important to note that responsibilities may also be non-gaming related during your time as a volunteer (i.e. cleaning toys or gaming materials, assisting kids in playrooms, helping children with arts & crafts). Day-to-day tasks vary depending on the needs of patients.

Still with us? Great! Here’s what you need to do to get involved:

• Step 1: Fill out our volunteer application. All applications must be submitted by or before August 31st (at the absolute latest).
• Step 2: If you meet our criteria for the program, a representative from Gamers Outreach will get in touch within 1 to 3 business days to let you know you’re eligible for participation! In the event we receive too many applications, or your application doesn’t meet our current expectations, we’ll invite you to apply again at a future time.
• Step 3: C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital will be hosting an information session to provide you with an idea of what life is like in the hospital. Attending this session is mandatory for all applicants, but does not equate to a hard volunteer commitment. The session will be held at Ford Auditorium on September 7th, from 6:30 – 7:30 PM.
• Step 4: A Gamers Outreach / C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital representative will follow-up after the information session to confirm whether or not becoming a Player 2 volunteer is still of interest, and if so, discuss next steps for involvement!

For any gamer who wants to give back, Player 2 is a great way to make a difference. Player 2 volunteers help normalize the hospital experience by ensuring kids have access to equipment and socialization during treatment. Player 2 volunteers become a resource for parents, patients, and hospital staff who need help from gamers to ensure kids have access to recreation and activities! It’s a great opportunity for us gamers to apply our skills, and help others level up!

We hope you’ll consider joining us at the hospital!

Are you a Gamers Outreach supporter residing in SoCal, or someone making a trip out to the west coast in the next couple weeks? If either of those is a yes – we’ve got an event for you!

On August 17th, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is hosting a soiree to raise funds in support of the Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases (CCCBD), and Gamers Outreach is sponsoring the event! The CCCBD was ranked the #1 pediatric hematology-oncology program in California and #7 in the nation in 2016. Their work and dedication helps thousands of children both at CHLA and around the world.

This fundraiser is a part of CHLA’s “emerging leaders” program, which brings together business leaders and entrepreneurs from Los Angeles in support of patient treatment.

As friends of the cause, you’re invited to attend! This event is a great opportunity to learn about Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and the role Gamers Outreach programs have at the hospital.

During the evening, you’ll have the chance to interact with some of our crew members, hospital staff, young professionals, and a number of game industry friends from around Los Angeles, all in support of fighting cancer! We’ll also be hearing from a young man named Yssa, known to his family and friends as “Ironman Yssa”. He’s 12 years old and was recently diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. Over the past several months, he’s gone through a couple rounds of chemo and a partial leg amputation. Through it all, he never loses his smile.

Here’s how to attend! 

Visit the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles fundraising page, located here, and make a donation of $35 or more by clicking the “Donate Now” button. After you make the contribution, a representative from the hospital will contact you via email to provide more details on the event and confirm your attendance.

Date & Time:
Thursday, August 17, 2017
7:00pm

Location:
PRANK | DTLA
http://prankbar.com/
1100 S Hope St
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Organized by:
Council Members Dana Falk, Shareena Kumar, Joseph McCullough, Jimmy Tran, Meghan Roberts, Natasha Zaharov 

Featuring:
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Patient Story, Yssa Gutierrez

Star Sponsor:
Zach Wigal, CHLA Emerging Leader | Founder, Gamers Outreach 

Schedule:
7:00pm Check-In & Reception
7:30pm Program

Attire:
Business Casual

Our team is proud to support patients and families at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. If you’re in the area, we’d love for you to join us during this special evening. Should be a great night! Hope to see you there!