Child's Play

Here's the deal everyone.

Back in 2003, the brilliant minds at Penny Arcade set up a charity called Child's Play. For those who don't know, Penny Arcade has a readership of around four and a half million gamers across the world and is arguably the largest community of gamers on the Internet. Also, it brings the funny and brings it hard.

The charity works like this: With the help of hospital staff (ahem) they set up Amazon Wish Lists full of video games, books and movies. Then the kind people of the world go to the wish list of their hospital of choice, buy a toy or a book and it is sent directly to the Child Life program at that hospital. I don't think I need to explain why having a good book to read, a funny movie to watch or an engrossing game to play is important for children, nor do I need to explain why it is imperative for kids who are sick and admitted to hospital. You're all smart. You get that.

As Penny Arcade reports, "through Child's Play the gaming community sent nearly a million dollars in toys, games, and cash to children's hospitals around the United States," over the last two years of the project. Pretty awesome. This year time they've expanded Child's Play to more hospitals around the US, Canada and the UK. The Canadian ones being SickKids in Toronto and IWK in Halifax. Which means that Canadians now have a chance to be part of this incredibly cool project.

What makes this kind of charity really amazing, is that the hospital is able to select the items that they really need. While any donation or gift is appreciated and cherished, contibutions of this kind do so much because they are meeting a genuine need. I won't say much more at the risk of Doocing myself, but if charity is on your mind and gaming is your thing, this is a great way to merge them.

HRH