Child's Play

Gamers unite! It’s time to donate to Child’s Play, the charity started by the creators of the popular webcomic Penny Arcade. What exactly IS Child’s Play? Here are Gabe and Tycho in their own words:

Child’s Play works the same as last year. With the help of hospital staff, we’ve set up gift wish lists full of video games, toys, and movies. You can go to each hospital’s list and buy a toy, and that toy will be sent to the hospital. Some of these kids are in pretty bad shape. Imagine being stuck alone in a hospital over the holidays, getting something from a fellow gamer would really raise their spirits. Some of the stuff the hospital will give away for kids to keep, while other gifts (like consoles) will be kept by the hospital for patients to use throughout the year.

They have numerous letters from parents and children whose encounters with the various children’s hospitals was made a bit more tolerable by having some games to play, new books to read or new movies to watch. I’ve seen studies and reports that show kids have better surgical outcomes when they play Gameboy before surgery. There are fundraising events across the US and Canada and hospitals that need help as far away as Egypt and Australia.

If anyone wants to combine forces for a larger donation, let me know either in the comments or via the forum PM system.