Child’s Play 2008

Child’s Play is a charity started up by Penny Arcade and powered by gamers. It has been raising money and collecting toys for hospitals around the world since 2003. The charity accepts donations year round, but rolls out a toy drive only during the months of November and December.

Since November is here and the Child’s Play site is being updated with information and a new toy drive, I’d like to help by trying to get the word out.

Here’s some information about the charity taken from the Child’s Play site:

Since 2003, we’ve set up and organized Child’s Play, a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in our network of over 40 hospitals worldwide. In four short years, you as a community have answered the call and come together to raise millions of dollars.

That was awesome. You guys have proven over and over again that you are an overwhelming force, and you really came through and made a real difference to the millions of kids that children’s hospitals care for each year. So we’re doing it again this year, only this time we’ve expanded Child’s Play to more hospitals around US and the globe so you can send toys to a hospital a little closer to home.

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.

We are arguably the largest community of gamers on the internet. The important word there being community. We are not a faceless corporation and you are not just a number tracked by a database and then relayed to hungry advertisers. You guys have proven yourselves to be a powerful force when stirred into action. Here is your opportunity to use that power to do some real good.

If you’d like to make a donation, go to the Child’s Play site, select a hospital, and choose a toy to purchase for them. If you’d like to make a donation via PayPal, send the money to:
childsplaycharity@penny-arcade.com.

And yes, you can donate even if you don’t have a PayPal account.

I think it’s great how the generous folks behind Penny Arcade are using their popularity and the power of the gaming industry to help so many people around the world. Keep up the great work, guys!