ExtraLife 2014 - Fundraiser to Support Children's Miracle Network

[richss]

Hi Treeleafers,

I wanted to share with the group a pretty cool fundraising opportunity. This Saturday (10/25/2014) from 9am EDT to Sunday 9am, the gaming community is joining together as part of the Extra Life event. Gamers (causal and hardcore) game for 24 hours straight while raising money for the Children's Miracle Network hospital of their choice.

My campaign page can be found at: http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?...ipantID=107546. I have currently raised $645 out of a $1000 goal for KU Pediatrics, a children's hospital in Kansas City that is part of the KU Medical Center / KU Hospital organization.

If folks are interested, please check out my page to learn about my personal campaign. If you want to learn more about Extra Life or sign up to start your own campaign, visit www.extra-life.org.

I know we've had discussion regarding gaming and its relationship to Zen, some positive and some negative. This is a great positive as it encourages social awareness while helping kids that are dealing with some awful illnesses.

Lastly, feel free to join me on my twitch.tv channel where I will be live streaming my 24 hours. http://www.twitch.tv/jhawk1138

Gassho,

Richard

[richss]

Also, for those interested, my team PS Nation is doing a raffle for donors. The details can be found on my fundraising page. If you are not interested, you can opt out when donating by adding the comment "No Raffle" in the comment box. Anonymous donations are allowed. Donations are tax deductible in the United States. All proceeds go directly to the hospitals and the families of sick kids.

[KellyM]

Glad to see another positive gamer! There is a lot of negativity in gamer culture, and gaming addiction is a very real thing for some people. Gaming is a cooperative thing for my husband and myself. (We'll be playing for Team Trion Worlds.) When he plays with others, it's a way that he can still be part of a team in spite of his physical disabilities. (He's a disabled Marine.) I think playing together, just the two of us, had an influence on starting a business together. There's a real difference between being partners and "a team" in life goals vs actually having two people work on the same thing at the same time and not get in each other's way. In the end, I think it's like most things in life... all a matter of whether you use it or allow it to use you. Extra Life really is one of the best parts of gamer culture.

Gassho,
- Kelly

[richss]

Thank you for your positive words Kelly. I am one to play more console games, which sometimes can be mindless shoot-em-ups; however, I enjoy most games that are either strongly narrative-based (e.g. The Last of Us) as well as those that are artistic (e.g. Journey and Flower).

This is my first year doing Extra Life as a fundraiser. In year's past, I watched some streams and donated to my team. This year I decided to raise money. I was nervous that I would not raise any. I busted my $300 goal about a week ago. I raised my goal to $1000, which had been my original stretch goal. I have raised $670 for KU Pediatrics (in Kansas City, KS) to date. Surprisingly, today has been my biggest day for raising funds as I started this morning at $395. As a lurker, I am often not one to engage directly in social media, but for this cause I felt it was important to start engaging folks more directly. I have been so pleasantly surprised with how supportive people have been.

[Kyonin]

Hi guys,

This is an awesome charity. Sadly here in Mexico and Latin America these kind of charities don't work. People don't donate anything most of the time and less to someone doing something.

I'd love to run, practice yoga or game for charity, but it's impossible here.

That said, I think participating in ExtraLife is AWESOME!

As a PC gamer I would be eager to do it.

Congratulations and good luck!

Gassho,

Kyonin

[Mp]

I know we've had discussion regarding gaming and its relationship to Zen, some positive and some negative. This is a great positive as it encourages social awareness while helping kids that are dealing with some awful illnesses.

Hello Richard,

This looks like a wonderful idea. If we are truly helpfuling and supporting all sentient beings with a sincere loving heart, then I feel the medium in which we help should not matter ... look at what medium we use here at Treeleaf. =)

Gassho
Shingen