We will be producing an ongoing series of feature articles under the name of Gaming For Good. The thought behind this series is to shine a spotlight on some of the more positive aspects of the gaming scene and the good that a number of charitable organisations do within that space. It seems that mainstream media are often quick to jump on claims that violent games create violent people or complaints of the other negative effects of being a “long term sufferer of gaming addiction”, but the force of good that gaming can be, either as a distraction, a psychological booster, for social empowerment and in more direct charitable ways, is all too often overlooked. We would like to do what little we can to re-address this balance as well as just helping to raise awareness of good gaming related causes.
There is no better place for us to start our Gaming For Good series than with Extra Life. Extra Life is a sponsored charity 24hr gaming event that raises money for local Children’s hospitals throughout the World. It is a charity that Big Red Barrel has supported since our inception and has always been near and dear to our hearts as it was founded by Jeremy “Doc” Adams, the owner and head honcho of Sarcastic Gamer – where the core of the BRB original group of staff all initially worked together.
After Doc introduced the story of a young girl named Victoria Enmon and her fight against cancer to a number of SG forum members, Doc noticed how nice the response of the community was in donating gaming gifts to help Tori to raise a smile while fighting the most serious of battles. When Tori lost this battle some months later, Doc decided to find a way to use games to help more people in her situation. We were all saddened by the loss of Tori, but in honour of her memory Doc spearheaded a campaign that thousands of people followed and, by partnering with the Children’s Miracle Network, has now helped to raise millions for Children’s hospitals in countries all around the world. In 2012 alone, Extra Life raised over $2.3 million dollars across the globe. Extra Life is still growing every year and, to our knowledge, still remains the largest, most successful charity gaming event of its type.
Gamers play games for 24 hours, now bumped up to 25 hours for this year’s challenge (which from previous experiences, is fine for the first 20 hours and not as fun for the gruelling, eye drooping last few) and then collect sponsorship in the forms of donations of flat sums or hourly rates. All this money is then directly paid to a children’s hospital unit in the area of your choosing, meaning that 100% of the funds raised goes to help LOCAL children in your area. Personally, I have chosen to spread my donations around the UK in past years, giving money to English, Welsh and Scottish hospitals and fund raisers are free to collect for any hospital in the Children’s Miracle Network.
More information about the hospitals available and international donations can be viewed on the Extra Life sign up page
This year, in time for November 2nd, we want everyone at Big Red Barrel to step up, be a hero and play their part when it comes to Extra Life. Whether you raise money by signing up and collecting sponsorship, donating to someone else or just helping to raise awareness, there is always something YOU can do to help. We will be talking a lot more about Extra Life in the run up to November 2nd this year. If you only go on one epic quest for good this year make sure Extra Life is set as the primary goal in your mission log.
Extra Life. Play games. Heal kids.