Gamers are a philanthropic people — especially if you let them raise money by playing games for an unhealthy length of time.
Starting tomorrow, gamers take to the livestreaming platform of their choice to broadcast themselves playing video games for 24 straight hours as part of the Extra Life marathon. This event has raised more than $11 million over the last four years, and it will add to that total this year. The idea of Extra Life is to stream games for 24 hours and ask your friends and family to sponsor your attempt. Anyone can partake, and more than 100,000 people do.
“Since its humble origins in my living room, Extra Life has grown into an amazing legacy for my friend Victoria Enmon, who passed away from leukemia,” Extra Life founder and executive director Jeromy Adams said. “I never dreamed that it could grow to be such a force for good, raising so much awareness and life-saving support for local children’s hospitals. Our original goal was to raise $10,000. Passing the $11 million milestone is nothing short of amazing.”
You can donate to your favorite player or organization by heading to Extra-Life.org today or any time during the marathon. This year, the event even has a corporate sponsor in Sony Computer Entertainment America, which is agreeing to send out PlayStation 4 systems and games to select Extra Life fundraisers.
The donations are all secure and go to the children’s hospital of the Extra Life participant’s choice. The charity event works with the Children’s Miracle Network to ensure the money goes to addressing what the hospitals need most.
If you want to donate but don’t know who to sponsor, why not throw some money to GamesBeat’s own Evan Killham.
You can even watch along as he plays at the video below: