Child's Play (charity)
Child's Play is a
Logistics
With the help of hospital staff, Child's Play sets up gift wishlists on
The charity also has a space for corporate sponsors who have donated. The sponsors also earn a corporate sponsorship level (Silver, Gold and Platinum) and get linked back on Childsplaycharity.org. These sponsors include several video game marathons such as the
History
Child's Play was announced on November 24, 2003, by the authors of Penny Arcade as a challenge to their readership, and as a response to the often negative portrayal of video gamers in the media, most notably a
In 2004, the charity was expanded and partnered with children's hospitals in Seattle; Oakland, California; San Diego, California; Houston, Texas; and Washington, D.C.[9]
By January 5, 2005, when the final numbers for 2004 were tabulated, the charity had raised over $310,000 ($60,000 more than the previous year), and gained forty corporate sponsors in the process. Among these sponsors were Nintendo, Midway Games, Cerulean Studios, and THQ.
In 2005, the charity was again expanded to partner with an additional seven children's hospitals across the United States, as well as children's hospitals in
In 2006, the charity was further expanded, adding four hospitals in the United States, two in Australia, and one in Egypt. In addition to this, on December 13, 2006 there was a charity dinner and auction, where items participants were able to bid on included a gaming day for four in the Penny Arcade office, an appearance in a Penny Arcade strip, a tour of Bungie and recording session for the voice of a character in Halo 3, and a two-year subscription to World of Warcraft and the Burning Crusade special edition signed by all the developers. The year 2006 also became the first time that the 1 million dollar mark was reached.
In 2007, the charity added a hospital each in Hawaii and New Zealand.
During the 2008
On November 13, 2009, Mike Krahulik announced that after one week, the Child's Play 2009 total had already reached $455,863.80.[14]
In 2010, Epic Games held a vote-by-purchase event between July 29 and September 6 to determine the fate of a character, Clayton Carmine, in their upcoming game Gears of War 3. Gamers voted by purchasing Xbox avatar T-shirts through Xbox live, or real life T-shirts at the San Diego Comic-Con, with all purchases counting towards the vote.[15] The voting campaign raised over $150,000, all of which was donated to Child's Play.[16]
In 2011, Mike Krahulik announced the first annual Child's Play Invitational Golf Tournament to be held at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, California on June 5, 2011. All proceeds from the event go to the partner hospitals & facilities in the Child's Play network.[17] The Golf Tournament was subsequently held at Angeles National Golf Course in Sunland, California, on June 8, 2012,[18] and Inglewood Golf Club in Kenmore, Washington, on May 20, 2013.[19]
In November 2013, Program Coordinator Jamie Dillion announced the first ever expansion of Child's Play to benefit children in domestic violence facilities.[20] The program was announced as a pilot and is scheduled to expand to open applications in Spring 2014. The shelter program will provide a pre-built game cart with game system, television, and games and will serve emergency shelters, long term shelters, advocacy centers and more.[20]
In 2016, the charity raised over $160k at their Annual Dinner Auction, provided nearly 30 grants to libraries, shelters, schools, trauma centers, transitional housing, day programs and more to help them purchase games and systems. Also helped supply VR setups to hospitals for therapy and distraction along with iPads to special education classrooms and inpatient psychiatric units.[21]
See also
References
- Penny Arcade. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
- ^ "Official website". Child's Play.
- ^ De Vere, Kathleen (18 November 2011). "Sponsor Showcase: Penny Arcade & Child's Play". LoadingReadyRun. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- G4TV. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ Parkin, Simon (2014-01-23). "A Journey to the End of the World (of Minecraft)". The New Yorker.
- HeraldNet. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ France, Bill (January 14, 2004). "Video gamers go out of their way for ill children". HeraldNet. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- ^ "Giving to Charity This Year Is 'Child's Play' - Successful Video Game Charity Launches 2004 Effort". PR Newswire. October 20, 2004. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
- Penny Arcade. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- Penny Arcade. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- Penny Arcade. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- Penny Arcade. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "PAX Pack DLC". Harmonix. 2008-09-02. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- Penny Arcade. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ Brudvig, Erik (2010-07-21). "Epic Puts Gears 3 Story In Your Hands". Xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-09-06.
- ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (6 September 2010). "Gears of War 3's 'Fate of Carmine' campaign raises $150K for Child's Play". Joystiq. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ "The 2011 Child's Play Invitational Golf Tournament". Penny Arcade. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07.
- ^ Dillion, Jamie (2012-04-18). "The 2012 Child's Play Invitational Golf Tournament". Child's Play. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- ^ Dillion, Jamie (2013-02-01). "Third Annual Child's Play Invitational 2013". Child's Play. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- ^ a b Dillion, Jamie (2013-11-08). "Child's Play is expanding". Child's Play. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- ^ "Child's Play - As we wrap up 2016, we want to take a moment to reflect on the last year". childsplaycharity.org.