Hi all,
The term “gamer” has seemed to have devolve into someone who society looks down on – a recluse, anti-social individual who does nothing but harm to others. When there are mass shootings, or individuals with mental disorders who wish to hurt others, the news media and other critics seem to zero in on the fact that the individual was a “gamer”, who liked playing endless hours of violent video games, rather than other factors or similarities that may have led to their actions. While the purpose of this post isn’t about the misguided focus of who or what is to blame for these issues, I bring it up because of what society and the outside media fails to shed light on, and thats all the wonderful things that the gaming community does for others. One of the shining examples of this is the Extra Life charity drive, held once a year on a Fall Saturday. This event not only creates a unique and vibrant community around gaming, with friends joining together for amazing memories, but brings in millions of dollars for Children’s Hospitals around the country to help sick kids.
If you’re unfamiliar with what Extra Life is, please view this link, and take 15 minutes out of your day to understand the history and meaning behind the event. In short, the Extra Life Marathon is a 24-hour marathon where participants play games to raise money for charity. Whether it be video games, board games, card games, whatever, the event is similar to a running marathon where participants hope for sponsors to donate $1 every mile (or in our case, every hour) and all donations go to charity. Each participant can choose which Children’s Hospital network will received the donations. While sitting on the sidelines for a few years, watching others partake in the event, I’ve decided to join this year and run my own “gaming” marathon on the official date, October 25th, 2014, from 8AM Saturday to 8AM Sunday. I’ve chosen to support the Children’s Hospital at Sanford in Fargo, ND, which is close to where I grew up and went to college.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure some of you are asking the question – isn’t this just an excuse to play video games for 24 hours? Well yeah,it is! We all love to play games, and why not have it go for a good cause, like raising money to help sick kids. From what I’ve heard from past participants, the first 8, 10 hours are a great time, playing the games we love with friends and having a blast, but the last half is tough, which is what these events are all about. If seeing someone go through a 24 hour game marathon will persuade a family member or friend to donate to the cause, then mission accomplished.
While some people do fall into the stereotypical image of a “gamer”, its important to understand that most people today are gamers – we’ve all played video games, board games, card games, at some point, and most enjoy them a great deal! Most people in the gaming community are the nicest, most sincere people I’ve met, and this event is just one example of the good that many people who play games do. Unfortunately, gamers will continue to be looked at as a negative thing in society, but hopefully over time, people outside of the gaming community will see us in a more positive light, which is definitely deserved.
I hope I’ve given you a bit more knowledge about Extra Life, and why I’m doing this marathon in a few weeks. If you can, please help donate to my fundraiser page, and/or come check out my stream on Oct 25th! I won’t be streaming the entire 24 hours, but I’ve put my gamertag’s and Twitch channel info in the “Connect” section of my blog.
Thanks for reading! Take care, and I hope to see you in my stream!
Ben
The Woodland Wanderer 