Child's Play

Child’s Play is pleased to invite game industry members and fans alike to the second annual Child’s Play Invitational Golf Tournament! Since many of us will be in Los Angeles for E3, we figured the Friday after the show (June 8th, 2012) would be ideal for us to have some fun, eat some food and raise money for the cause. This year the tournament will be held at the gorgeous Angeles National Golf Club in Sunland, CA. All proceeds go to the partner hospitals & facilities in the Child’s Play network. Click here to purchase tickets.

Course: Angeles National Golf Course, 9401 Foothill Boulevard, Sunland, CA.
Time: 8:45 AM Check-In, 10:30 AM Start
Date: Friday, June 8th, 2012
Format: Shotgun start with a four-person scramble. Team with the lowest round score wins!

For sponsorship opportunities or any questions, please email jdillion@childsplaycharity.org.

With your entry fee, you’ll receive:
+ Greens Fees Covered
+ Power Cart Rental
+ Boxed Lunch
+ Beverages
+ An Awards Mixer / Reception Afterward!
+ Longest Drive, Closest to Pin and Putting Contests
+ Free Gift Bags for all Participants/Donors.

Friday, June 8th Schedule:
8:45 AM: Check-In, Driving Range
10:30 AM: Shotgun start / Tournament begins!
3:30 PM: Post Golf Awards Mixer / Reception!

Here at Child’s Play, we love to work with the student community. Whether it’s early education, high school, college- whatever the age, we’ve seen them do some incredible things. With the holiday break now behind us, students are heading back to the classroom and we’d like to share some of the ways that they (you!) can help us out!

• School publications like newspapers, podcasts, radio shows, TV news, blogs - you name it, we are happy to chat with you about what we do at Child’s Play.
• Oftentimes students are assigned research projects but have freedom to choose a topic. We’ve had students send in work ranging from how play improves the healing processes, how community fundraising is effective (and could be more effective), the benefits of video games, and much more. Scientific data regarding many Child’s Play related topics is constantly emerging, and can be a powerful and interesting subject to study.
• Organizing and hosting fundraisers is an awesome way to get involved. Students generally have access to some wonderful resources, like event space and volunteers to help out. We’ve seen bake sales, game nights, marathons and tournaments, and the sky is the limit!
• Students focused on the arts have sent us beautiful work that they complete for school projects. We’ve seen graphic design, illustrations, web design, animations, and more.

One group of aspiring animators from The New England Institute of Art spent the last few months creating a promotional video for Child’s Play as part of their curriculum. It is very cool to see the process from start to finish, and they were able to work with a real client and have a final impact that helps spread the word about a cause they feel strongly about. Check out their video:

They also wrote an in-depth production blog outlining their goals, process, and key learnings.

Student projects like this are great ways to spread the word participate in our awesome community. If you’d like to interview us, do a Child’s Play-related project, or run a student fundraiser, get in touch!

Since the founding of Child’s Play in 2003, each year has exceeded our expectations in a big way. Thanks to the support of the community, we’ve grown from sending a truck full of toys to Seattle Children’s Hospital to benefiting a network of over 80 hospitals worldwide. 2011 brought some incredible milestones, including breaking the $10 million mark in lifetime contributions, founding our Annual Child’s Play Golf Tournament, rolling out a full website overhaul and seeing the community activism explode via hundreds of events put on by the community. The generosity of gamers has yet again been overwhelming, and our total for 2011 is a number we both amazed and humbled by:

$3,512,345.

Let that sink in for a second. Over three and a half million dollars going to hospitals worldwide to ease the suffering of kids when they need it most. All because you, as a community, came together to make a difference. And what a difference it is.

Thank you. Thank you to the community fundraisers who invest their time and energy. To the marathoners who forgo sleep and often pride for a laugh and a donation. To supporters of us through the Humble Bundle, who chose to contribute both Child’s Play and the industry as a whole. Thank you to those who have shared our cause with friends and family, whether it be through social media, word of mouth, blog, podcast, or stream. Thank you to our corporate sponsors whose contributions show how much our industry cares. To the attendees and supporters of our Golf Tournament and our Dinner Auction. To those who sent items through Amazon, donations through Paypal, checks in the mail: thank you, thank you, thank you.

We could go on, because at the end of the day each and every one of those has contributed to that incredible number, and there aren’t enough “thank yous” in the world to truly express our gratitude.

Moving in to 2012, our bar is high: $3.5 million could be tough to beat. But if we’ve learned one thing, it is to never underestimate the generosity of the gaming community. Each year has surpassed our expectations, and we move in to 2012 with confidence and enthusiasm. THANK YOU!