We just wrapped up an eight-day trip to the Pacific Northwest, featuring the first big leg of our fundraising journey to Halo Fest and our time at PAX West. Before that, though, we spent time with the kids at the newly opened Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

Mary Bridge: Children’s Hospital Evolved

After more than 30 years sharing space with MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, Mary Bridge Children’s opened up their new home at a beautiful facility in Tacoma, WA, this past May.

Thanks to donations made at the Halo World Championships last year, Gamers Outreach worked with Halo Studios to make sure this new facility had two new XBOX-equipped GO Karts for the hospital to call its own. To make the visit even more memorable, we had a six-foot-tall Master Chief join in on the fun.

The visit was essentially a follow-up to what we did last year before PAX: we visited Seattle Children’s alongside Halo Studios and Master Chief and shot content about the impact the power of play has on hospitalized children. This year’s visit to Mary Bridge had the same spirit, but this time, we also took the opportunity to have a member of XBOX and Halo Studios get the experience of building a GO Kart in addition to just playing and conversing with patients.

“Bringing some morale to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital felt especially good while sporting the two new GO Karts from the donations of the Halo Community,” said Halo Franchise Ambassador Ron Brown. “We had a great time at the hospital, from chatting with some of the kids about Minecraft strategies (I didn't know you could make a giant oven with a bunch of campfires!) to show off the finer points of the Master Chief's energy sword.”

Big Ambassador Energy

Ron also joined the visit to Seattle Children’s last year, and seeing how he teamed up with Master Chief to bring smiles to every room, elevator, and hallway they rolled the GO Kart through brought all the wholesome vibes we love to see from our hospital visits.

In addition to video content we produced that will debut and play at Halo Fest on December 12-13, the visit also gave us a chance to begin production on a video showing how a GO Kart is put together and how easy it is to set up. Ron and Master Chief took the activity with open arms, which made visiting the kids even more rewarding.

“For me, the most important part is making sure that the fun, connection, and support that gaming can provide is being delivered directly to one of the places that it is needed most,” Ton said. “I'm always impressed by the amazing work that Gamers Outreach does alongside the gaming community.“

Every hospital visit we’re lucky enough to have and facilitate is special, but the vibes are truly taken up a notch when you do it alongside great fans and company, as we have with XBOX and Halo Studios. Moments like these are unforgettable, and they’ll make the journey to Halo Fest that much more exciting.

Going to Halo Fest?

This visit or this GO Kart donation wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the Spartans helping us finish the fight at last year’s Halo World Championships, and we look forward to running it back at Halo Fest!

Our booth at Halo Fest will be the biggest yet. From limited-edition apparel and other wearable accessories to fun activities to take part in at the booth, Halo Fest attendees will definitely be in for a treat.

Stay tuned for more!

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