Pixel Equity: Community Gaming Initiative

Pixelequity.org is a new site dedicated to donating games to those who can't afford them. An honorable charity. But what spoke to me were the reasons that Pixel Equity came up with for the reasons everyone should be able to play games.

• Exposure to different cultures
• Learn to think scientifically
• Follow directions and read critically
• Develop social and communication skills

I whole heartedly agree with those points and look forward to look at their request list and possibly being able to donate games to them. Between this and Child's Play, I think these are two really nice charities for children created by gamers for gamers. I hope they add some more items to their list, especially older generation consoles and games, where a huge library of culture and gaming history resides. You can donate anything you want, but it would be nice to filter through some games that really meant something to the four points they state on their website instead of just buying NFLMBAdden 2kXX.

Child's Play Charity 2007

The awesome Child's Play charity is up and running again for this year. This charity was created by gamers, for gamers. Every year, we get together and buy toys and video games for kids in hospitals that can't go home for Christmas. This year they are hoping to top $1,000,000, and so far it seems on track.

To donate to our area's hospital in Washington D.C. (too bad there isn't one in Harrisonburg), visit Amazon and buy right from their wishlist.

For more info on Child's Play, or to find other hospitals participating around the world, visit http://www.childsplaycharity.org/index.php

Gameless Weekend

Between a wedding (7/7/07), IKEA, Home Depot and Lowes; Between driving to D.C. and back; Between sleeping and more sleeping...gaming hours this weekend equal zero.

I've been keeping up with the blogs though. Internet access on the phone is crucial.

I'm also happy to report that over the weekend, the coordinator for Child's Play got in touch with me over the Facebook over the group I started. It's now sitting at 75 members with $75 dollars raised.

Ok. Time for more sleep. I have lots of computers waiting for me tomorrow at work.

Child's Play on Facebook

I absolutely love Child's Play and everything it stands for. Lots of gamers already know about the charity created by gamers for kids in sick hospitals. So I decided to create a new avenue for it on Facebook.

Last year gamers raised over a million dollars in video games, toys and cash. In 2003, when it started, it raised just over $250,000. I can't imagine what 2007 will be like.

This year I'm also thinking of posting an email within RCPS schools and printing up flyers to put up in the hallways for students. This charity really spoke to me as a gamer, so I'm hoping to make some kids in this area feel as good as I do.

The first year I donated I purchased a Nintendo GameCube bundle for the Children's National Hospital in D.C. That felt really good. Then the next year I realized that there were so many inexpensive items that hospitals asked for on the Amazon wishlist. That year I bought a case of Play-Doh and 11 sets of markers. That's at least 12 kids at once that I made their stay in a hospital better.

So I hope anyone that reads this now knows about Child's Play and might be compelled to do something for it. And now I've made it even easier for anyone with a Facebook account to spread the word.