Child's Play

It’s December, and that means we have a month and counting left of this year’s Holiday Fundraising drive. Which makes it all the more incredible that we’re within striking distance of our $2.25 million goal- The community has now raised $2.1 million this year! We are thrilled, overwhelmed, and humbled by your support- the impact it is going to make in lives of hospitalized children is profound. Thank you.

The Humble Bundles have been an amazing source of support for us, and we are so incredibly grateful to the Humble team and everyone who purchases any of the Bundles. They are currently running the Humble THQ Bundle - pay what you want for six (or seven!) THQ games as well as soundtracks! You can set how much you’d like to donate to us, the American Red Cross, THQ, and the Humble Tip by using the sliders in the payment section. Huge and humble thanks!

The Child’s Play Charity Dinner Auction 2012 is now Sold Out and under a week away! This year is going to feature more Live and Silent items than ever before- amazing one-of-a-kind props, gorgeous art, games, and more. If you’re attending, registration opens at 6:00PM, with the silent auction beginning at 6:30PM. If you have any questions or needs, please email Jamie (jdillion@childsplaycharity.org).

Are you sitting down? Seriously, take a deep breath, because as of today the gaming community has raised $1.42 million this year to provide toys and games for children in hospitals worldwide. You read that right - $1.42 million so far this year, and we still have weeks to go!

The wheels of the Desert Bus for Hope fundraiser have stopped turning after 6 days, 8 hours of continuous driving and contributed $436,015.71 (and counting) to that incredible boost in donations. If you’re missing the Loading Ready Run crew & friends like we are, never fear - you can check out their YouTube page or Flickr stream to relive the magic, and donations are still open! To every single person who drove, pitched in, crafted, donated, chatted- thank you for the incredible impact you’ve made in the lives of children around the world.

The annual Child’s Play dinner auction has just a handful of tickets left. In just under two weeks dresses and suits will be donned and the Meydenbauer will be full of incredible geeky goodness - you don’t want to miss it! Individual tickets are here, and corporate sponsored tables are here.

Sometimes we are asked which of our partner hospitals generally receive fewer toy donations.  If you would like to support a smaller facility that could use some extra love, please consider supporting Chris Evert Hospital, American Family Children’s or the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.

We have now raised $530,000 in our 2012 Child’s Play fundraising year! For reference that’s over twice what was raised in our inaugural year, and will be going to our network of over 90 facilities to make kid’s holidays a little brighter. We would not be able to do it without the community’s incredible support - thank you!

Speaking of incredible, you may be familiar with Desert Bus for Hope. If not, you’re in for a treat. The fine folks from Loading Ready Run have 4 days ‘till they fire up the engine for only-you-know how many days of driving excitement. With over $3,000 already raised this year and $825,002 raised since 2007, the LRR team and friends have prepared their dance moves, collected auction items, and forgone sleep to bring you this truly incredible event. This year they’ve set up an Opening Lap, which will begin at 7:30PM PST on Friday, November 16th with John Anealio and The Doubleclicks streaming some warm-up tunes live. The bus will begin rolling at 9PM, so clear your calendar and prepare for a lot of laughter- for the kids.

If driving a bus at a constant speed across a featureless desert doesn’t sound like your ideal game, we have a humble suggestion: the Humble Bundle for Android 4 is live! It’s an easy way to support Child’s Play, not to mention you get five (or six!) games out of the deal and pay-what-you-want. Buying these games individually would cost around $119, but you can choose what to pay support Child’s Play in the process.

Preparations for our annual Dinner Auction are in full swing, and tickets are selling quickly. Individual tickets are available here, and if you’d like to sponsor a table you can do so here. We’re excited to feature some really incredible items at the auction this year - tune in to our update next week for a sneak peek. We’re also still accepting items - if you’re interested in donating, please contact Jamie Dillion - jdillion@childsplaycharity.org.

To wrap up this week’s update, we wanted to share a note sent in by Renee, the Manager of the Child Life Department at Children’s Hospital Winnipeg.

“I am emailing so I can attach a photo of a very happy patient.  This girl was so excited when she came to Children’s Hospital as she couldn’t believe the amazing assortment of movies and video games that she could borrow!  Apparently when they started to plan for her to go home, she said she wanted to stay longer!

Also, yesterday we let a long-term patient, a 15 year old boy with complex medical issues and economic needs, keep a Nintendo DS and a game to choose, to take home.  He was thrilled beyond words!  He kept saying, “I don’t know why I deserve this”, and when we told him that generous donors from Child’s Play donated it, he wanted us to tell them how nice they are, and thank you very much!

We use your donations in a multitude of ways, all to benefit the patients directly and make their hospital experience better.  Most items are shared via a loaner library system, and some are used as gifts.

Thank you for everything!”