Someone sent this letter in which seems to be from a thread on the Whirlpool forums. Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity program has now been extended to cover two Australian hospitals thanks to the efforts of a guy called Dan. You can read the forum post below detailing what the Child's Play program is all about and how you can help out!
(Whirlpool forum post)
In 2003, creators of the online gamer comic "Penny Arcade" became tired of the native press associated with the gaming community. After having spent some time with children in their local Seattle Children's Hospital, they decided to begin a charity that would be by gamers for gamers.
Their charity focuses on the often overlooked aspect of illness and recovery. Billions of dollars are spent every year on medical research, but often the mental side effects of long term and painful treatment are forgotten. Children may sit in hospitals for 23 hours a day, waiting for just 1 hour a day of treatment. Especially for a child, this waiting can be depressing and even worsen their condition.
Penny Arcade also wanted to make Child's Play a zero-fee charity. To do so they teamed up with online retailer Amazon.com where donors can buy toys, books, puzzles, pencils, boardgames and video games, and these are shipped directly to the hospital. This ensures the donor that none of the money they donate is wasted on "administration fees" or other similar financial black holes associated with many charities.
In 2005, Child's Play opened it's doors to the world, expanding from the USA. Unfortunately Australia was nowhere to be seen. Saddened by this, I have spent the better part of the last year making sure Child's Play would benefit some Australian Children's Hospitals by 2006.
Amazon.com can't ship electronic items to Australia, so I approached local Australian owned and operated DStore.com.au, and they gladly stepped up to the plate to become the host for Child's Play Australia.
This year we are proud to have two Aussie hospitals on the map (more will appear next year). The Brisbane Mater Children's Hospital, and the Sydney Randwick Children's Hospital. I've spoken with both hospitals, and their situations are dire. Their toy rooms often consist of a single box of toys for several dozen children, and these toys are often in non-working condition. Both organisations are very excited about this year's inclusion in the list and that their kids will receive
wonderful Christmas presents this year.
If you're up for a bit of tear-jerking, head to the website and click the "Letters" link to read the responses from both parents and children who have received gifts in years gone by.
And now, for some grovelling:
What I'm asking from all of you reading this is two things.
1) Donate. That was obvious. Please put a smile on a sick kid's face this Christmas with a small donation.
2) Participate and evangelize. This is the important one. Child's Play is run on a $0 budget, driven by the hard work of the volunteer staff. Child's Play does not pay for advertising. It relies entirely on the generosity of the media.
If you have a website, please place a banner on it for the next 30 days (available from the "Activism" page on the Child's Play website).
If you have connections to radio, print or TV media, please use and abuse them. Pass this email on to them, and ask them for a small editorial, time slot or whatever to make the site known.
And finally, spread the word. Tell your friends, tell your relatives, tell your workmates. Stand on your rooftop and tell it to anyone who will listen.
Do it for the kids.
Child's Play Charity website:
http://www.childsplaycharity.org
DStore Info page:
http://dstore.com.au/Christmas/Sydney-Childrens-Randwick/12008356,0,0,00.html
-Dan
Volunteer-in-Chief Child's Play Charity Australia.