Child’s Play formed in 2003, has raised over 5 MILLION DOLLARS in donations of “toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world”. 5 million dollars, folks! Child’s Play is partnered with over 70 hospitals around the nation and the world; they are also aiming to expand their reach to many more. You can check out their website to find partnered hospitals in your area that you can help out or you can donate on their site via PayPal. If you’d rather get more involved, Child’s Play offers a list of events you can participate in to help raise money and awareness.
Donate Games.Org raises money for research of orphan diseases, diseases that affect .05% of the population. These diseases are so rare they are often over looked for research. DGO makes donating easy for you, buy a game from them and proceeds go to help fund this research. Or, if you buy else where and you’ve finished the game, why let it sit on a shelf when you could donate it to DGO? They will even send you a tax-deductible receipt. See, it helps a cause and you get to stick it to The Man. You can check out DonateGames.Org to find out more.
Mario Marathon is an event that raises money for Child’s Play. It’s an event hosted by 3 guys, Brian "Shirt Guy" Brinegar, John "Couch Guy" Groth, and Chris "Slouch Guy" Deckard. They play a marathon of Mario as their name suggests. They televise it via the internet and let the whole world watch the epic fun. They do it to raise awareness and money for Child’s Play. During the event you will be able to donate to Child’s Play via a Donate Now button on their website. As the donations increase, donators will “unlock” access to the next game. In other words, the guys will move on to the next game in the line up once they reach a certain amount of donations. There is also music and dancing.
Glyde, while not strictly for gaming and gamers, is a resale website that allows you to sell your books, movies, games or CDs then donate a portion or even all of the proceeds to several different charities. They’ll even send you a pre stamped and addressed mailer package once your items have sold. All you have to do is put the sold item into the package and drop the whole thing in the mail. It’s simple and easy. You get rid of clutter and you get to help out the charity of your choice. Win/Win!
