One year at the holiday season I was so broke I was too embarrassed to buy gifts. Everyone would get some clearance item or front counter trinket. I couldn’t even afford the as-seen-on-tv items from Walgreens.
I decided that rather than get everyone something useless and ill-conceived I’d donate in their names. I made a list of my family and friends and found a few charities to give to. I tried to choose charities that offered appreciation gifts, like livestrong bracelets and youth aids dog tags.
I gave everyone a handmade card and the gift that came from their donation. Whether it was something they wanted or not they had to look karma in the eye and appreciate (or pretend to appreciate) the fact that something kind was done in their name.
The thing is, I don’t need another scarf or pair of socks. At the very least if you give me the choice of me having the scarf or the socks for free or some child who doesn’t have a scarf or socks having them, I’d say give them to the kid. If you can only spend six dollars, why not donate five and put one towards a handmade card?
When I hear about the sick exchange of selling a used game or console to a retailer for a pittance so they can resell it at what’s barely a sale price, I’m saddened.
Rather then feel sad about getting screwed and contributing to some corporation’s bottom line, I suggest donating what you can and collecting your tax deductions and karmic kudos.
From youth centers to hospitals to troops overseas, there are many options for gamers to donate their time, money, and material goods.
1. Child’s Play – www.childsplaycharity.org
Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child’s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over 7 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.
This year, we have continued expanding across the country and the globe. With over 70 partner hospitals and more arriving every year, you can be sure to find one from the map above that needs your help! You can choose to purchase requested items from their online retailer wish lists, or make a cash donation that helps out Child’s Play partners everywhere. Any items purchased through Amazon will be shipped directly to your hospital of choice, so please be sure to select their shipping address rather than your own.
When gamers give back, it makes a difference!
2. Extra Life for Kids – www.extralifeforkids.com
Extra Life for Kids (ELFK) gaming marathons are held by clubs, organizations, or groups of friends who want to help raise money for a good cause by doing what they love: playing games!
Any size of group can run a gaming marathon and they can run it in the way that best fits their interest. As long as the core ELFK values remain, each event can and should develop its own character. We’d love to hear new ideas for future ELFK events!
Core Values
These three values are the soul of ELFK.1. Charity
The main goal of every ELFK event is to raise funds and increase awareness for the Children’s Miracle Network, ELFK’s sponsored charity. CMN contributes to a network of children’s hospitals all across the United States to provide healthcare for underprivileged families and to research treatments for some of the world’s most harmful childhood diseases. You can learn more about CMN at www.cmn.org Unless otherwise specified, all CMN donations go to the local children’s hospital in the area which donations were raised.2. Positive Gamer Image
Games, especially video games, have been the target of an overwhelming amount of bad press and parental and legislative anger. When the only image that non-gamers get of video games is a violent one, gamers are placed into narrow stereotypes and gaming as a hobby becomes increasingly hard to justify. ELFK knows that gamers are awesome people! Charity gaming marathons are a great way to show that to friends, family, and the world at large. ELFK is dedicated to promoting a positive image of gamers. We welcome good press and the participation of diverse gaming groups. As a part of promoting a positive image of gamers, we do not endorse the playing of violent video games by children who do not meet the ESRB specified age for those games, we want all gaming marathons to foster a spirit of community, and we do not condone the use of alcohol or drugs at any ELFK event.3. FUN!
Of course, games are all about fun! The third goal of an ELFK event is to ensure that everyone has a great time from start to finish. ELFK gamers should have a great time playing all sorts of games with their friends and make new friends through the event itself. A good gaming marathon will leave its participants with excellent memories and an itching to do it again! We encourage multiplayer game play, tournaments, challenges, and contests to liven up the event. As a part of having fun, gamers should not overdo it. Each person has an individual limit to how much gaming they can take. No one should be forced to play when they are ready to quit, breaks need to be taken at least once every couple of hours, and marathons should not last longer than 48 hours. There need to be individuals who are not playing in the marathon to make sure everyone is having a fun and safe event.
3. Donate Games – www.donategames.org
HOW IT WORKS
Step 1: Play a game. Love it. Finish it.
Step 2: Mail it to Donate Games and receive a tax-deductible receipt for your game
Step 3: Buy a different game from Donate Games
Step 4: Go back to Step 1
Donate games. Buy games. Save lives. Three easy steps. It really is that simple.
By donating a game, you can receive credit on your taxes equal to or greater than the value you would have received by trading it in and know that your game went to help a good cause.
By buying a game from Donate Games, you can get a game at a good price and know that your money will go to help a good cause, too.
By operating efficiently and entirely with a volunteer staff, we can keep overhead low and ensure that proceeds from every sale at DonateGames.org will go to support those suffering from orphan diseases around the world, searching for cures, providing caring networks and easing suffering.
Everyone wins.
Don’t have any games AND not sure what to purchase from Donate Games? You can still help! We accept cash donations through PayPal, check, money order and other transfers (go here to see more details).
Volunteer help is always welcome: stop by our offices, tell your friends about Donate Games, write a story, host a LAN party, run a tournament, whatever! Just contact us with your idea and see what we can do together.
Do you work for a game developer or publisher and want to donate new games or talk about other sponsorship opportunities? That’s great! Feel free to contact us for that, too.
4. Games For Heroes, Inc. – www.gamesforheroes.com
We have started a charity for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
During our school Spring Break, we spent a week at elementary schools in White Plains, New York telling the students about the troops and the hardships they face. We began a letter writing campaign known as: “Cheer Up the Troops”. We have collected over 1000 letters from the students and staff, and we forwarded them to Iraq along with the kids’ drawings and candy.
Next to letters, the most requested item is any kind of battery operated hand held video device including Gameboys, PSPs, and Nintendo DSs. Most of the soldiers are under 20. Our goal is to collect handheld game machines, batteries and games for every soldier who wants one. We need your help. They can be new or used, as long as they are still working.
We would appreciate one or many, or donations to buy them. If you would like to include a letter of support to the troops, that would be great, too. If you believe in this cause, perhaps you could ask your school, church or temple to support Games For Heroes. If you collect fifty or more game machines, we will send you a letter acknowledging your community service. Maybe you even know a business that will sponsor this.
A Please help us collect games for our troops. Please send donations to:
Games For Heroes, Inc.
97 Secor Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583
PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Games For Heroes, Inc.
5. Find an Orphanage near you and ask if they need donations
(hint: they always do but not always for games so much as money for food, winter clothes, shoes, etc.)
Note:
In the USA 501(c) (3) organizations are considered public charities and all donations to them are tax-exempt and 501(c) (4) organizations are allowed to spend a substantial portion of their revenue on lobbying our government and not every donation to them is tax-deductible.
You get more give for your donation by donating to a 501(c) (3).
6 Questions To Ask Charities Before Donating – CharityNavigator.org
