Gamers Outreach Foundation

In March 2007, more than three hundred individuals had registered to participate in a Halo 2 tournament organized by Saline High School student, Zach Wigal. Wigal, (along with a group of friends) had rented his high school's cafeteria to facilitate the event, and spent months organizing one of the area's first ever competitive video game tournaments.

Three days before the event was scheduled to take place, protest from a local public safety official forced the tournament's cancellation. According to a voice mail left for the school district's superintendent, it was the opinion of the public safety officer that video games were “corrupting the minds of America’s youth,” and the teenager's gaming tournament was a “hazard to the public safety of the community.”

Still determined to host a video game tournament, the group of high school students began organizing a new event to illustrate the positive impact gamers make when they come together to play video games. In 2008, Gamers for Giving[1] was born, a competitive gaming tournament and LAN party that provided gamers with an opportunity to participate in gaming activities, while simultaneously raising money for charity.

In the process of planning the new tournament, Gamers Outreach Foundation[2] (Gamers Outreach for short) was established. While the original purpose of the organization was to facilitate Gamers for Giving, the newly founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit began taking on a life of its own.

As interest in Gamers for Giving grew, so did the scope of Gamers Outreach's mission. In 2009, Gamers Outreach began working with C.S. Mott Children's Hospital of Ann Arbor, Michigan to provide video games to hospitalized children. Witnessing the frequent need for bedside activities, as well as the impact games were making in the medical environment, it was quickly realized Gamers Outreach could provide something more specific: accessible recreation for kids during long-term stays.

After spending six months volunteering within the hospital, the first “GO Kart” was created – a portable, medical-grade video game kiosk that provided nurses and child life specialists with a way to transport games and entertainment to children who were unable to leave their rooms within the hospital.

Gamers Outreach has since grown into an organization dedicated to providing therapeutic recreation to children and families in hospitals through interactive entertainment. The organization's programs serve children in hospitals around the country, and through the organization, gamers or interested donors can directly help young people in hospitals of their choosing.

From a bunch of high school kids with an interest in hosting video game tournaments, to helping thousands of children per year in hospitals, Gamers Outreach has come a long way. The organization's vision has evolved to ensure children in hospitals everywhere have access to relief and activities during treatment.

The mission statement of the Gamers Outreach Foundation is as follows:

Gamers Outreach is a 501(c)(3) charity organization that provides recreation to children in hospitals through the power of video games and the gaming community. Hospitalization can often be a lonely, isolating, and scary experience for young people. We ease those burdens by providing equipment, technology, and software that help kids cope with long-term treatment. We are known for our medical grade gaming kiosk called the Gamers Outreach Kart, “GO Kart” for short.

Project GO Kart

Gamers Outreach constructs portable, medical-grade video game kiosks called “GO Karts” (Gamers Outreach Karts). These kiosks enable nurses to easily provide bedside activities to children unable to leave their rooms in hospitals. Each GO Kart is equipped with a gaming console, monitor, and assortment of games. The carts provide a safe, flexible, and efficient way to ensure kids have access to entertainment and coping mechanisms during long-term hospitalization. Each unit also has an internal lift mechanism, which allows healthcare staff to adjust the GO Kart to a patient's bedside, accommodating a variety of medical scenarios which may limit a patient's mobility.[3]

Player 2

Player 2 is a volunteer program where gamers have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they've acquired through gaming in a manner that supports patients and staff within hospitals. By volunteering, gamers become “digital activity managers” and serve by managing equipment, providing tech support, and playing games with patients. Many hospitals receive game donations, but without proper staffing to manage inventory at a mass scale, it can become difficult for tech donations to properly serve patients as intended. Player 2 helps address this issue by ensuring knowledgeable individuals are present to distribute technology and exercise its positive benefits.

Each year, the foundation hosts a non-profit competitive gaming event called Gamers for Giving. Gamers for Giving is a weekend-long competitive gaming tournament, LAN party, & streamathon that helps raise money in support of Gamers Outreach programs. Ticket sales and donations help provide entertainment devices to hospitalized children. The event typically features video game tournaments, special industry guests, and a variety of gaming activities and competitions for event participants. Profits from the event are used to support Gamers Outreach initiatives.

• Gamers Outreach Foundation Official website
• "Gamers for Giving Website"