Advent Spiel for 6 December 2004: Child's Play.
Dec. 15th, 2004 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
camwynI'm way behind on these. In my defense, I've been working my ass off at the office and haven't been getting home early enough to do much other than talk with people and RP. Still, it seemed appropriate to do these guys for 6 December, as that day is the feast of St. Nicholas- patron of children.
Child's Play is an organization set up last year by the creators of the gaming comic strip Penny Arcade. In their own words:
Last year we set up a charity called Child’s Play. We set it up because we were angry the media decided to blame all the world’s problems on games and gamers. Basically they said that gamers were bad people, and we thought that wasn’t right. Apparently, you guys agreed: through Child’s Play you sent more than $250,000 in toys, games, and cash to the sick kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Child's Play exists, not because of poverty or torture or environmental disaster, but because if you are a kid and you're in a hospital and it's Christmas or Hanukkah or Diwali or Kwanzaa or whatever, your life sucks, period, end of sentence. C'mon. How many of you could have had fun in a hospital before the age of, oh, whatever grade you were in when they first handed you a scalpel and a frog? And how many of you, even now, would want to spend so much as one hour in hospital at this time of year? I'm guessing not many,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
drharper and others who work there excepted.
The goal is simple: get games and toys to kids who're stuck in hospital at a time when they should be having fun. Last year was just Seattle. This year, there's been a slight change in plans:
Child’s Play works the same as last year. With the help of hospital staff we’ve set up Amazon Wish Lists full of video games, toys, and movies. You can go to each hospital’s list and buy a toy, and that toy will be sent to the hospital. Some of these kids are in pretty bad shape—imagine being stuck alone in a hospital over the holidays--so getting something from a fellow gamer would really raise their spirits. Some of the stuff the hospital will give away for kids to keep, while other gifts (like consoles) will be kept by the hospital for patients to use throughout the year.
The hospitals are located in Seattle, two spots in California, one in Texas, and one in the DC metro area. They've got wish lists set up at Amazon for people who want to buy stuff, and they've got the option for people to give money so the hospitals can just get the stuff themselves. I had a look at one of the wishlists; there's stuff like Xboxen on it, but there's also colouring books and crayons and small-size buckets of Legos at the other end of the spectrum. These toys and games and things might not change the world the way the Grameen Bank does, but I tend to feel that if you can save someone from despair, that counts for a hell of a lot no matter how you do it. And, hey, a lot of you reading this are probably gamers. You can probably empathize with the frustration Tycho and Gabe felt at yet another article on video games training kids to kill, since no matter how precise the journalist is with his/her language it inevitably translates into 'VIDEO GAMES AND RPGS ARE BAD AND SO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY THEM'. This is their way of fighting not only the kids' despair, but the world's misunderstanding, and that's always cool.
Well done, Tycho and Gabe.
Child's Play is an organization set up last year by the creators of the gaming comic strip Penny Arcade. In their own words:
Last year we set up a charity called Child’s Play. We set it up because we were angry the media decided to blame all the world’s problems on games and gamers. Basically they said that gamers were bad people, and we thought that wasn’t right. Apparently, you guys agreed: through Child’s Play you sent more than $250,000 in toys, games, and cash to the sick kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Child's Play exists, not because of poverty or torture or environmental disaster, but because if you are a kid and you're in a hospital and it's Christmas or Hanukkah or Diwali or Kwanzaa or whatever, your life sucks, period, end of sentence. C'mon. How many of you could have had fun in a hospital before the age of, oh, whatever grade you were in when they first handed you a scalpel and a frog? And how many of you, even now, would want to spend so much as one hour in hospital at this time of year? I'm guessing not many,
drharper and others who work there excepted.The goal is simple: get games and toys to kids who're stuck in hospital at a time when they should be having fun. Last year was just Seattle. This year, there's been a slight change in plans:
Child’s Play works the same as last year. With the help of hospital staff we’ve set up Amazon Wish Lists full of video games, toys, and movies. You can go to each hospital’s list and buy a toy, and that toy will be sent to the hospital. Some of these kids are in pretty bad shape—imagine being stuck alone in a hospital over the holidays--so getting something from a fellow gamer would really raise their spirits. Some of the stuff the hospital will give away for kids to keep, while other gifts (like consoles) will be kept by the hospital for patients to use throughout the year.
The hospitals are located in Seattle, two spots in California, one in Texas, and one in the DC metro area. They've got wish lists set up at Amazon for people who want to buy stuff, and they've got the option for people to give money so the hospitals can just get the stuff themselves. I had a look at one of the wishlists; there's stuff like Xboxen on it, but there's also colouring books and crayons and small-size buckets of Legos at the other end of the spectrum. These toys and games and things might not change the world the way the Grameen Bank does, but I tend to feel that if you can save someone from despair, that counts for a hell of a lot no matter how you do it. And, hey, a lot of you reading this are probably gamers. You can probably empathize with the frustration Tycho and Gabe felt at yet another article on video games training kids to kill, since no matter how precise the journalist is with his/her language it inevitably translates into 'VIDEO GAMES AND RPGS ARE BAD AND SO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY THEM'. This is their way of fighting not only the kids' despair, but the world's misunderstanding, and that's always cool.
Well done, Tycho and Gabe.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 09:23 pm (UTC).
..
*claps*
Me
Date: 2004-12-15 10:05 pm (UTC)Re: Me
Date: 2004-12-16 07:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 09:59 pm (UTC)As far as games go, I think, after reading so much about this, that really violent video games aren't particularly good for kids. I mean, much as I love it, and will play it occasionally, do I really think a kid OBSESSED with the Punisher game is a good thing? No.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-16 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-16 07:11 am (UTC)Children’s Hospital has always remained constant in their mission to care for all children regardless of a family’s resources. Since we opened our doors in 1907, no child has ever been turned away because a family’s inability to pay. In 2003, the hospital is expected to provide over $32 million in uncompensated care. In addition Children’s is in partnership with the University of Washington in a commitment to research. As you can see, your support literally helps us to keep our doors open to all patients.
So, y'know, there's probably a lot of needy kids involved from the very beginning. You'd have to ask the other hospitals about their individual policies.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-16 07:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 10:21 pm (UTC)