Going through treatment at a hospital can be a scary and isolating experience, especially for young people. At Gamers Outreach, we believe it’s critical that while patients receive care, they also have access to play. Kids deserve a chance to be themselves, and video games are an outlet for activity and socialization.
Video games are incredibly helpful inside hospitals, but health workers often have limited availability to monitor technology throughout a facility.
We envision a world where video game hardware is easy to manage and accessible to hospitalized families. That’s why, 16 years ago, we started building GO Karts.
GO Karts, or “Gamers Outreach Karts,” are portable video game kiosks built for hospitals. Each device is equipped with a monitor, console, controllers, and assortment of games. They’re a platform to deliver video game content to recovering patients.
In early 2023, we made substantial investments in our manufacturing process to reimagine the GO Kart for a new era. We redesigned the way GO Karts are built to help protect our donors and hospital partners from inflationary costs. As well, these new units can accommodate all modern consoles, and they’re far easier to distribute to hospitals worldwide.
Last year on this stage, we had the opportunity to show you the prototype of these new units and we spent the entire summer constructing our first batch. Our work was completed in the late Fall, and now, we’re excited to share the new GO Karts are being deployed.
As of this recording GO Karts exist in more than 400 hospitals across 9 different countries. We estimate the devices enable as many as 5.1 million gaming experiences for kids each year. Another little known fact is that we employ a team of support staff who actively help hospitals manage their GO Karts once delivered.
Each day, GO Karts are making an immense impact for children receiving care. So much so, that we have received over 600 requests from our existing network of hospital partners.
This year, our goal is to fulfill every one of those wish list requests. Healthcare staff should be empowered to provide families with entertainment, and we have hundreds of hospital partners in need of support. These asks from hospitals represent a $2.1 million dollar fundraising goal, and with your help, we can deliver on all of them.
Gamers for Giving represents one of our first major fundraisers of the year, and we’d like to invite you to be a part of this quest. You can donate through our website, contribute towards your favorite streamer, or start a fundraiser of your own. Every dollar will help us make a tangible difference for families receiving care.
Check out GamersforGiving.org to get involved and be a part. We hope you’ll join us!