Child's Play

It was two years ago that Gabe, one of the creators of the popular gaming webcomic Penny Arcade wrote the following in his blog:

If you are like me, every time you see an article like this one [Violent video games are training children to kill], where the author claims that video games are training our nations youth to kill you get angry. The media seems intent on perpetuating the myth that gamers are ticking time bombs just waiting to go off. I know for a fact that gamers are good people. I have had the opportunity on multiple occasions to meet hundreds of you at conventions all over the country. We are just regular people who happen to love video games.

I understand Gabe's frustration. Lord knows, every fringe pasttime takes its slams from the media at one point or another. I've been a comic book reader, a Dungeons & Dragons roleplayer, a fan of horror flicks and a participant at sci-fi conventions. The mainstream media would paint me as a murderous deviant long before you factor in my video game playing. But instead of just grousing about it, Gabe stepped up and did something positive. Something that would change people's lives.

Wanting to show the world just what kind of people gamers are, he put out a request for donations of games and cash for the local children's hospital. "Let’s give these kids the Christmas that they deserve and let’s give the news papers a different kind of story to write about gamers," wrote Gabe.

And people responded. Boy did they ever. $250,000 worth was raised that first year. In 2004 the efforts expanded to assist a number of hospitals across the U.S. and close to a million was raised. What's more is that this Child's Play charity that's been created is all done strictly volunteer. Not a penny of overhead or administration. Every dollar finds its way to improving some hurt or sick kid's day.

Being sick when you're a kid stinks. Being sick during the holidays really really stinks. I'm glad to see that this year Child's Play has extended to include Canada and the Toronto Sick Kids' Hosptial. I've just made my donation and there's a copy of Charlotte's Web and a copy of Kingdom Hearts for the PS2 on its way to Sick Kids' to try and make things a little more bareable.