When the issue of sick children gets brought up, it is predominantly thought of as an international problem, often being identified as one that traditionally plagues the third world. It only takes a single personal experience to remind you that, in addition to all those suffering beyond our borders, there are also many children suffering here in the United States. While I have nothing against the many charities and organizations that strive to help those in other countries, I can’t help but recognize the importance of taking care of those who are suffering here.

Having spent a portion of my younger life in the Children’s Hospital in St. Paul Minnesota, and then watching much the same happen to my younger brother, I am quite acquainted with the power that video games can have on children that are receiving treatment. I mention both of these experiences because I feel that it is important to providing both first and second hand knowledge of the role that games can play as the context for giving to the Child’s Play charity. Founded in 2004 by the great people working at Penny Arcade, Child’s Play is one of the few charitable organizations that make a concerted effort in rallying around one specific cause that is often overlooked by so many others.

Being prompted by the many negative connotations that are often associated between video games and children, Gabe from Penny Arcade set out to show the difference that something as simple as a Gameboy can have on a sick child’s time spent in the hospital. While having access to a video game in the hospital may seem trivial, the escapism that video games innately provide is the perfect distraction from both the pain of procedures as well as from the depressing atmosphere that often accompanies a long term stint in a hospital bed. When I was lucky enough to check out one of the few video game systems that was at my local hospital, the motivational power that it seemed to have was what my mother called “nothing short of miraculous.” Whether it was getting a shot, another IV put in, or simply needing to get out of bed for a seemingly endless hike around the floor, the promise of just ten minutes of game time was seemingly enough to make me look forward to these daily occurrences.

While the ESA does contribute to charity organizations in the effort of elevating the video game industry from one that is seen to cause more harm then good, Child’s Play takes it to the next level by bringing the cause back to the core audience, that is to say having the community help raise funds is a tad more compelling then hosting charity dinners with the jet set crowd in New York or Los Angeles. With so many media outlets ready to crucify the industry whenever a study or bit of content, like the GTA:SA hot coffee mod, is found to cause a link between video games and adolescent violence, Child’s Play is going a long way to establishing that the overwhelming majority of gamers are not just statistics, but people that truly care about the image of their industry.

I make a call to gamers: Do Something! Child’s Play is a charity whose game drive doesn’t go throughout the year, but for hospitals and other care facilities, the need can last a full 12 months. Have a big party and charge for charity, donate a Wii to a nursing home and help the residents become acquainted with it, give your old system (with age appropriate games!) to your neighbors’ kids; these kinds of grass roots efforts are those that will be most effective in reversing the negative stigma that is often associated with video games. With the average gamer being a male in his mid-30’s, the image of video games as a mere novelty or toy continues, I for one would love to see a day where a video game centric conversation would be met with true insight and educated thoughts instead of being scoffed at in the same way that an intellectual views a playground argument about the merits of Pokemon vs. Digimon.

While it may seem a tad odd for me to be bringing up the perceptions of the industry as a whole in relation to a charity that gives video games to children in the hospital, the connection is one that runs deeper then one might think. In order for ignorance to be eliminated the efforts much be focused on educating the youth, and building an image around all the good that gaming does, instead of lying in some sort of societal limbo, like the porn industry. I suppose when you get down to it, Child’s Play has no agenda, it is all about helping those in need, the essence of charity. Giving to this cause is such a win-win-win-win-win situation; it has no negatives, and is going a long way in laying the foundation for when the industry can be viewed for its philanthropy rather then an enabler for violence and abuse.

-Eric Wall

Tags: Child's Play Charity, ESA, featured, Industry Predictions, penny arcade

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