Gaming for SickKids: Joe VS 24 hours
Joe, a gamer, decided SickKids would be his charity of choice for Extra Life.
It’s 5:30 in the morning. I sneak downstairs, flick on the TV and set it to channel three. I clutch one of my Nintendo cartridges, carefully blowing the dust out as I gear up to play some old-school video games. That’s right – it’s game time! Every year, I join Extra Life to relive my ‘90s childhood for a good cause.
For the past five years, I’ve been participating in Extra Life, the annual 24-hour gaming marathon in support of Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), the organization that helps children’s hospitals across North America, including SickKids. Extra Life began in 2008, when a group of video gamers in Texas wanted to raise funds in memory of a young cancer patient who had been undergoing treatment at their local children’s hospital. Since then, it has raised more than $22 million for local CMN hospitals.
I play each year for Extra Life, because I realize that we need a great hospital, like SickKids, to provide the best possible care for children and families when they need it the most. My children have been to SickKids – they were followed by the Infectious Diseases Clinic for about a year. They are generally healthy, so their conditions weren’t too scary for us. But I’ve seen close friends sending their babies to SickKids for life-saving surgeries that have set those children on a path towards living life like kids. I am happy to do my part to give back through Extra Life.
The 24 hours of uninterrupted gaming initially got me hooked with the event. Since then, it has become much more. With Extra Life, I’m raising funds and sharing gaming culture with my extended family, friends, my wife, Stef, and our two kids, Leah, 7, and Owen, 5. It has truly become a family affair!
"Every year, I join Extra Life to relive my ‘90s childhood for a good cause."
I’d call myself a lifelong gamer. It started with card games, such as Magic: The Gathering and systems like Atari, progressing into Dungeons & Dragons, and the many generations of PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox. Today, this love of both board games and video games is a big part of my life.
Before the marathon, I stock up on supplies and bring flyers to help promote the challenge at my local gaming stores. People have shown their generosity by donating used games to me after learning more about Extra Life. I also prepare several snacks and at least two cans of Red Bull to help fuel my 24-hour gaming frenzy. My kids also choose three to five games they are keen to play with me.
On Game Day, I wake up early and start my day with Nintendo games. When Leah and Owen get out of bed, they pick up their controllers to play Mario Brothers 3 with me. Around lunchtime, we tuck into some Pizza Party (the board game!), followed by King of Tokyo with the entire family.
In the afternoon, our neighbours drop by our home to play games and make donations during the marathon. Sometimes, they’ll pick up one of the controllers to take a trip down memory lane with one of my “retro” video game systems. Our friends come over as well, and often bring their own board games to introduce to my family.
When evening rolls around, my fellow “dad” friends join me for some rounds on Nintendo and Super Nintendo. My regular buddies from Dungeons & Dragons also come by for various games late into the night. By midnight, it is my wife, Stef, who settles in to play some of her old favourite video games with me, including Mario Kart and Dr. Mario. She’s still the undefeated champion for the latter!
By 2 a.m., everyone is snugly tucked into bed, and I’m the last man standing (I mean, seated in front of the television). This is the only time of the year I crack open some Red Bull to help boost my energy as I play my favourite video games until the crack of dawn. As the clock hits 5:30 a.m., I always send a message of thanks to my supporters before I head to bed after a marathon day of gaming. There are so many reasons to play games; and raising money for children's hospitals is probably one of the best.
While many participants play video games, anything is fair game – from tabletop games, to card games to sports! Anyone can sign up by heading to www.extra-life.org. You can ask friends and family to donate to your fundraising efforts, and also recruit from your networks to join your team. Donations can be collected before or after the gaming event. This year, November 5 marks the day when gamers across Canada and the United States will fire up their video game consoles and board games for Extra Life, but participants can play from home or online on any day that works for them.
