HAIL AND WELL MET! Welcome in to see what's going on for Extra-Life! We are now moving well through the year, almost halfway to the end of 2024 and even closer to the big day when gamers from around the world will get together to play games for 24-hours to use our hobby and help sick kids. But I;m getting ahead of myself.
If you don't know what Extra-Life is, it is in essence a charity event that will be going for it's 16th year. If you think about it like a marathon, it's a lot like the ones that might run across major cities in the US. Participants will pick a cause they run for, collect donations from sponsors for said goal, then run like hell on the big day to honor them and the cause they run for. In this case however, we are not running, we are gaming... and come November, we will all come together and for 24 hours (or 25 if they pull their traditional "daylight savings day" timing), we will play. It could be video games, board games, card games, tabletop RPGs, tabletop wargames, and any mix in between. If you can think of it, it is probably there, and it will happen.
Nor do we have to worry about picking a cause. That too, was decided from the moment this event started in honor of a single young girl who fought valiantly, but ultimately lost her fight to cancer. The man who started this event back then went online by the name of "Doc" and ran a site had the honor of being a regular on called Sarcastic Gamer, and he was a friend of the family. When she lost, it hit him hard, and I am going to tell you right now, it was actually hard listening to the podcast as he broke down live. However, her loss would be the spark that started something truly great as the site got together to play for this single hospital and raised thousands of dollars to do so. It was only a few weeks (if I remember right) between announcement and taking part, and I am still honored to have been there.
Since then the event has expanded, but the goal has never changed. Instead of helping one hospital in Texas, Extra Life has now expanded to be a Children's Miracle Network event and helps hospitals across it's entire network. So we are not choosing what cause to play for, all we are doing is picking which hospital we want to help the most, choosing to be a gamer specifically to help them. Me? I play for Boston's Children's Hospital, but you can pick one close to you... or any one at all if you have particular ties.
So how do you get involved? Well that's the easy part. Just go to their website at www.Extra-Life.org and click the sign-up button. You can set your profile, select your hospital. You can even show up by a selected call sign if you are into that anonymous online thing (or the "cool kid" 90s vibe... I think you know where I sit on this one XD) if you wish! And once signed up, all you have to do is collect donations like you would any other drive. Then when the big event comes around, make yourself comfortable with friends or solo... and be part of something amazing. Streaming is optional, but more then welcome as it lets the world see that much more of what we are doing. And if they pick a weekend that doesn't work for you, don't sweat it. Hell I'm usually in the same boat (reliably I can count on their weekend choice to be family related the next day... and zombie-megabyte driving an hour to meet them is no fun for me, them, or anyone in between us on the road). That's what raindates are for. Likely the weekend they pick, I will pick the next one to play my part, cheering on the main group in the meantime, and I recommend if you're in the same boat you do the same!
But if you don't think you can pull off a marathon like that, there are still ways you can help. Your donations towards other gamers are this event has been a HUGE success over the years and continues to absolutely crush it every year. You can search out your favorites in the site, or if you would like to help me or my team (we rock it each year under the name of this site), first let me say thank you and second let me make it even easier. At the top of this page is a big Extra Life button that says "support me" which will take you to my team page. Once there, you can select anyone who's signed up to join me and donate under their name in the roster, helping their hospital directly. The same button is also below!
Thank you for any help you want to give... the kids need it and we are all greatful. But on that note, my time this morning is up. Have a good day and see you out there on the gaming grid.
- Megabyte
