When I attended Too Many Games Convention over the summer, I remember being asked if I heard about Extra Life. They handed me a business card and said that it was a 24-hour game fundraising event for the benefit of sick children happening in October 2014. While I’ll admit my schedule has been very jam-packed since then, Extra Life has been brought up to me multiple times in the past few months. As an avid gamer and someone who’s donated and participated in a lot of charities/philanthropies over the years, I wanted to learn more about how I could help make a different in these children’s lives. Sponsored by kbmod.com, Reddit, Trion, Rooster Teeth, Playstation, and Twitch, Extra Life has captured the attention of many organizations over the world.
Tonight, October 23, 2014, Showdown eSports is currently holding an Extra Life Kick Off Charity event in San Francisco, Ca. This will consist of various types of streamed gameplay all night from 6pm PST to 2am PST. 100% of their donations will be going towards benefiting local kids within Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. All Things Fun!, a game store in West Berlin, New Jersey, is holding a 24-Hour Extra Life Gaming Event, all proceeds going to CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). I had the opportunity to ask a few questions to an active participant, Adam Nachmias, about this weekend’s fundraising event.
Jemmillion: What is Extra Life?
Adam: Extra Life is an annual fundraising event put on by gaming communities (video and other games) to raise funds for children’s hospitals all over the country. Extra Life began in 2008 as a way of honoring a young lady named Victoria Enmon. Tori’s battle against acute lymphoblastic leukemia inspired the Sarcastic Gamer Community in a way that is difficult to describe. Members sent in video games and bought gifts to keep Tori’s spirits up despite numerous hospital stays and three bouts with the deadly disease. Typically this event consists of 24 hours of gaming at various locations and by streamers on Twitch.
Jemmillion: Why did you decide to help fund-raise and attend Extra Life?
Adam: A little over a year ago, shortly after the birth of my friend’s daughter, she fell critically ill and had to be rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Thankfully CHoP was able to help her and she is doing very well today. Places like Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia help families with sick kids every day even if the parents can’t pay, and that’s a great cause. We had our first Extra Life event last year at my friend’s home and this year we have expanded to a new venue where we can have more people attend. I decided to attend last year because I love to game and I wanted to show my support for the event itself.
Jemmillion: Where do all the proceeds go? How can playing games for 24 hours help save a child’s life?
Adam: Extra Life brings gamers together toward a common cause and the funds raised go right to children’s hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network. Our particular team is raising funds with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Jemmillion: Will this event be live streamed?
Adam: Our particular event will not be live streamed, however there will be several streamers who will be streaming their marathons and raising funds.
Jemmillion: How can those who are unable to attend the event contribute to the cause?
Adam: You don’t have to attend to the event to help, but we’d of course love to have you. You can go to extra-life.org if you want to contribute to the cause. They accept both online and offline donations and rewards are given for raising various tiers of funds! If you wish to donate specifically to the team I’m on, our team name is Team Annabelle.
Learn more about Extra Life and some of the events being held this week at the below websites:
https://www.facebook.com/events/691868847570264/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1545768028987295/
You can follow Adam Nachmias at:
jemmillion.wordpress.com 