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Annual Child's Play Charity Drive Begins

Many, many thanks to the gentlemen at Penny Arcade for the kickoff of their now annual Child's Play Charity Drive. The drive is intended to hook up willing people in our community with children's hospitals across the country, to spread some geeky christmas love to young folks that need it. This year the drive extends across the country, and you can donate toys to hospitals in Seattle, Oakland, San Diego, Houston, and D.C.. Tycho has a little startup post on Penny Arcade, as well.

18 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Uh... by fahrvergnugen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Did I miss something, or does the hospital in Oakland want 20 Donkey Konga bongos, but no actual copies of the game?

    --
    Even Jesus hates listening to Creed.
    1. Re:Uh... by DeltaStorm · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Some hospitals receive games free from the company. Since the bongos will get the most wear and tear that could be why they want a supply of them.

      --
      .sdrawkcab si gis siht
    2. Re:Uh... by BMonger · · Score: 5, Informative

      It is entirely possible they already have copies of the game and simply need more bongos for multiplayer.

    3. Re:Uh... by i.r.id10t · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe they want to implement TCP/IP over bongo drums ?

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
  2. I hope by Anubis350 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hope these guys get lots of press this year. They are absolutely right in being indignant about the world's ills being laid at the feet of violent games, movies, etc. and a drive like this will give a good face lift to the public perception of gaming.

    "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."

    amen, go and dig through your pockets ppl, wait a little to buy doom3 and donate here instead.

    --
    "goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
    1. Re:I hope by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Informative

      I just hope they get accurate press. Last time around the press made a number of incorrect statements when commenting on them. They have a press page this year but it hardly provides enough information to make sure that sort of thing doesn't happen again. A complete press kit would have a bio on each of the principals, as complete a schedule as possible, contacts for more information (that much has been provided anyway) and basically anything else that you want the public to know. Their press page is extremely ungainly, for example at the top it says that "The mini interview below was answered by Tycho" but below where it asks who's involved the page says "Child's Play was started by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of the online comic strip Penny Arcade" which leaves you wondering (if you don't already know) who the hell Tycho is. If this is an example of the quality of work from BeSeen Communications then they deserve to fold up immediately. Integrated Solutions my ass.

      With all that said, these guys clearly have their hearts and their heads in the right place, and putting out your own effort to help people is what charity is all about. Giving money (or material items) is just an extension of that, since money represents effort. I wish them all the luck in spite of their lack of media finesse :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Im proud of those guys. by juuri · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In the same way I am proud of Stewart for going after the Crossfire idiots. No one has a moral responsibility to do good in the world. Life really is about survival of yourself and those you love and care for. However it is nice to see people who, when given a large mindshare of public trust, do something good with it.

    I know some people in the past year have bagged on Child's Play because they didn't see it being altruistic enough or as self serving, but c'mon that they choose to do anything at all is great! By something as simple as coordinating the desires of gamers to occasionally do something nice for someone else a lot of kids are going to have much better holidays and the whole group of gamers end up looking better in the eyes of the public who are constantly flooded with negative images about gamers (OMG DOOM MADE ME KILL MY BROTHER WITH A CHAINSAW AND GRAB RANDOM GIRL TITTIES!@!!!!!!!!).

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    --- I do not moderate.
  4. Last year they raised 1/4 million USD in cash/toys by doormat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I surely hope they surpass that number this year. Its a great thing they are doing, someone is turning their large audience into a positive force for children.

    --
    The Doormat

    If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
  5. Been following Penny Arcade for years.. by ID000001 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And watch them grows, right from the material they post about, and the skill to their drawing, all the way to their artical and follower. They truely did came a long way, but at no time have I been able to predict a community can grows into such respectable manner. A Video game community! And to top it off, this is only the second time they try this. Maybe it will turn into someone big.. Hell, it already is something big, in just two years. Considering how much Penny Arcade have grow in the past.. I can not imagine what Child's play can turn into. It could become something huge, something national.. We shall see.

  6. Re:Children's hospitals--too easy. by DigitumDei · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hmm lets see. Their audience is a bunch of gamers who read their site because its game related. Sure they could hold a charity to donate food and clothes to children in Sudan (cos they sure as hell will not benifit from a game console), but they'd probably end up doing a whole lot less good since their audience would be spending a whole lot less.

    Just because somewhere in the world there are people with even less, doesn't mean they shouldn't concentrate on an area where they cam do the most good.

  7. Re:Children's hospitals--too easy. by (54)T-Dub · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I knew there was going to be at least on naysayer about Child's Play. Here is a clue bat ... kids who are sick and dying is sad no matter where they live. The charity of this cause is no less because there are others out there that may be more "important". It's not like this charity takes away from other ones. It simply adds to the general prosperisty. Please remove yourself from your elevated cavalry.

    --

    "I can not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presents danger, the solution is ignorance" - Isaac Asimov
  8. Re:Children's hospitals--too easy. by 2Flower · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Back when I was 13, I was laid up in the hospital for about a month to have a pair of surgeries involving grafting a metal rod to my spine to keep it from going crooked.

    If not for the fact that Nintendo's Gameboy came out in stores a month beforehand and I had one, I would've gone completely nuts. Video games are a very good distraction for children who are suffering and need release, need a break from having little to do but twiddle thumbs, watch reruns on daytime television and hope the pain will subside soon once the meds kick in.

    Support Child's Play. It's not feeding the hungry, but it's bringing solace to people in dire need of it, and that's good too.

  9. Re:Children's hospitals--too easy. by cyber0ne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How about fighting for insurance for everyone

    Sounds good. Let me know when you get this charity idea off the ground. Or, were you just shooting off your mouth and hoping that somebody else will bear the burden of "charity" for you? If this is the case, then go fuck yourself.

    As for the guys at Penny Arcade, why flame them for choosing another charitable route? Face it, you can't help everybody with everything. But they're helping _somebody_ with _something_ which is better than most people do. Different charity organizations do different things. Some may be bigger, some may reach more people, but they all do some good (well, except the ones that are actually scams... but those are easy enough to avoid). Personally, my favorite is helping the Kiwanis International Foundation fight Iodine Deficiency Disorder. If you're looking for a way to stretch your dollar to help as many children around the world as possible, they're a good one.

    --
    http://publicvoidlife.blogspot.com
  10. Re:Children's hospitals--too easy. by xsupergr0verx · · Score: 5, Informative

    Uhh, many of the requested Spanish items are books. Living in Tucson, AZ, I know very many people who speak English and Spanish fluently, but their parents or grandparents (first generation immigrants) speak only Spanish. It's probably aimed for situations like that, Spanish speaking parents (or bilingual volunteers) reading to their children.

    Believe it or not, there are 100% legal US citizens who speak Spanish and use hospitals.

    --

    Click here for a free picture of an iPod!
  11. Re:Children's hospitals--too easy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Who deserves a wish more, a kid in Sudan or a kid in a US hospital?

    Are you implying that a sick child in the US is somehow less important than a sick child anywhere else? I didn't realize that children had a measurable value associated with them.

  12. Re:Penny Arcade? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Offtopic"? Apparently irony is too subtle for some moderators. The link referred to the last "Child's Play" drive, in which the media underreported the money that they raised, and incorrectly attributed the charity to a local Catholic school, instead of to Penny Arcade. Gabe and Tycho were pissed.

  13. Best Quote by jcsehak · · Score: 5, Interesting

    from the site:

    "Michael Thomas, the PA reader who helped us add up all the toys purchased as of late last night also had this very nice quote at the end of his message to us:

    'Now I understand what all of the anti-videogame people ment when they said children raised on games would grow up abnormal. They were right, we'd all grow up with really big hearts.'"

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    c-hack.com |
  14. Play-Doh rocks. by imac.usr · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Absolutely no child, healthy or sick, should be deprived of the sheer joy that is Play-Doh. It's colorful, malleable, non-toxic, and even smells funny. Best of all, it comes with no instructions, flashing lights, or piezoelectronic voices - you have to make all those things up as you go along.

    Is that the perfect toy or what?

    --
    I use Macs for work, Linux for education, and Windows for cardplaying.