This year we have an ambitious goal in mind for our GO Kart program. We often receive requests from hospitals looking to acquire a GO Kart, or add to their existing fleet, but do not have the funding to support their needs. We save each of these requests to our Hospital Wishlist and fulfill them as our generous supporters make donations throughout the year.
Our goal is to fulfill all outstanding requests by the end of 2024! And we need your help to get there.
With the introduction of our new GO Kart 3.0 build, which just won an iF Design Award, we’ve introduced improvements that make the hardware easier to build and deploy at scale. It is also more accessible, and addresses the needs of healthcare professionals in terms of portability, durability, and ease of maintenance.
As the word has spread about GO Karts, we’ve received more and more requests from hospitals looking to bring the power of play to patients in their care. In fact, our wishlist currently stands at over 200 hospitals asking for over 600 GO Karts!
Defining Success
In our annual report we define how we measure the impact and success of our programs, which we think gives important context to how we make a difference in the lives of children and families receiving care.
Here are our key indicators of success 💪👇
Gaming Experiences
Gaming Experiences. You’ll notice the front page of our website lists the number of “annual gaming experiences” our devices provide. This number reflects what we believe to be our capacity-for-use, given the number of GO Karts and devices across hospitals. A “gaming experience” is defined as “every time a child plays a game on our device.” There are instances the same child day-to-day may use a GO Kart. There are also scenarios where a GO Kart is deployed in a playroom and used by 20+ children per day.
The existing global fleet of GO Karts currently stands at 1908. We estimate that these enable up to 5.5 million play experiences annually. Should we achieve our goal of deploying 600+ GO Karts by the end of 2024, we will unlock: an additional 1.7+ million potential gaming experiences, but also important tools for caregivers to improve their patients’ experiences.
Saturation
Saturation (program footprint). We’re working towards a scenario where all kids have access to play without needing to wait their turn. This means providing the right type of devices, as well as the right quantity. A “fully saturated” hospital is a facility that requires no more devices. If our “program footprint” expands, it means we’ve added more devices across hospitals.
We aim to achieve saturation for some hospitals on our wishlist so patients at those facilities have access to activities at any time, without delay.
Breadth
Breadth. There are hundreds of pediatric hospitals in the United States alone. So long as our programs are of benefit, we hope to maintain a presence in each! Dozens of hospitals will be receiving their first GO Karts as part of our fulfillment plan, bringing joy and restoring a sense of normalcy to patients with each placement.
And, the enhanced deployability of GO Kart 3.0 means the stage is set for international expansion. Currently, GO Karts are active in 10 different countries and we hope to be present in at least an additional 4 by the end of the year. GO Karts are going global thanks to supporters sharing the news about our programs to their local communities, connecting us with more healthcare facilities around the world.
We Need YOU
It’s thanks to your support that Gamers Outreach programs are possible, and we’re on a quest to create more moments of play!
You can help us on our achievement hunt by:
- Spreading the word about GO Karts and Gamers Outreach. Our Instagram page is filled with beautiful moments of kids gaming and hospital staff celebrating their new equipment.
- Donate directly to Gamers Outreach. Our monthly giving community, The GRID, comes with perks like early access to our community events, and newsletter updates. We’re also excited to be sharing some goodies from our partners later this year.
- Fundraise through your own campaign or start an online fundraiser. Every amount makes a difference!
Gamers for Giving 2024, our annual LAN party and Streamathon, kicks off Friday, April 5 and we invite anyone looking to join in for good times and gaming with friends.
We are committed to providing GO Karts to every facility that has requested units. We hope you’ll join us on our quest throughout the year! FOR THE KIDS!