At PAX West, you can help bring video games to kids in hospitals

If you clicked on this post, give yourself a pat on the back. It means you cared enough to wonder how being at PAX West can help bring video games to kids in hospitals.

The homies know what I do, but not everybody is my homie yet, so let's turn everybody at player.gg into my homie.

Some of you might know me for all the work I've done in games media. I run SmashPad, and I've been writing about video games for over 20 years. I love it, but it doesn't pay my bills. In 2016, I got a job in community management with Glu Mobile, which was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2021. I was there for three more years before my studio was shut down in 2024, and I was laid off (much like every other professional in the industry over the last few years). While it was only for six months, it was a dark time for me, as somebody who has been working since the age of 16.

Six months and 30 interviews later, I finally got back on my feet with Gamers Outreach, and it's been an amazing (almost) two years and counting as their Community guy.

If you've never heard of it, don't feel bad. When I first submitted my job application, it was new to me too. As far as gaming charities, I only knew about Extra Life and Able Gamers.

The Gamers Outreach Foundation is a non-profit charity whose mission is to bring entertainment to children in hospitals through the "power of play." The foundation is best known for its "Gamers Outreach Karts" (or GO Karts, for short), which you'll find in over 500 healthcare facilities in 20 countries worldwide. There are more countries, hospitals, and kids in the world looking for a sense of normalcy, and if you're at PAX West, you can help.

We'll be at Booth #1325 in the Arch building. There, you'll be able to see and play with a couple of GO Karts in person, and chat it up with Gamers Outreach staff, including yours truly. If you're kind enough to make a donation of at least $20, we'll hook you up with a Limited Edition Gamers Outreach x Halo Pinny Arcade Pin. All proceeds will support our programs that bring games to the kids.

Gamers Outreach has been attending PAX West for a number of years now, but this is the first time the foundation has participated in Pinny Arcade, and we hope people love our pin as much as we do!

If you don't have the means to donate right now, it's all good. If you really want to support our mission, come by the booth anyway, and we'll talk about what you can do. Do you stream? Maybe you can look into streaming for the charity. We have our upcoming Spooktacular Streamathon next month, and I've heard a couple of our creators call themselves the Kings and Queens of Halloween. What better way to earn that crown than to stream at an actual video game charity event?

Anyway, I'm typing this up from my hotel in Seattle now. I actually got here a couple days early because we were visiting patients in hospitals with an awesome Master Chief cosplayer and members of Halo Studios. We have some cool stuff cooking for Halo Fest, but I'll tell you that at another time.

If you're at PAX West, come say hi!

And if you're not going to PAX West and would like to support Gamers Outreach anyway, click the cool button below.😬