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GameChanger Believes Gaming!

Here at GameChanger Charity, we know that gaming can bring more than just entertainment for sick children and their families. Our mission is simple. We exist to improve every facet of a child’s experience in a hospital room and to provide comfort and connection to these children that are often lonely and isolated.

In May of 2006, the lives of the Carol family were changed forever. Their son, Taylor, was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia and was given two weeks to live. After soul searching and seeking guidance from experts, the family decided to move Taylor to the Children’s Hospital of Seattle. It was there that Taylor began the long and hard fight for his life. Taylor not only survived but thrived. Jim Carol, the founder of GameChanger Charity saw first-hand how two things came together to provide joy in even the darkest hours - the kindness of strangers and Taylor’s love of video games. Kindness and gaming. Sounds simple, but sustained their son and helped distract him from the both the physical pain and the emotional fear he faced day in and day out. When Taylor beat his illness, the Carol family decided they wanted to pass that hope on to other kids struggling with debilitating illnesses and injury. This is how Game Changer Charity was born.

Since that time, GameChanger has evolved greatly. Today, we work alongside top pediatricians, hospitals, and game developers to bring top-of-the-line gaming, care, education, and equipment to sick kids, We have been awarded the Platinum Seal of Transparency by Candid for the important work we do and are happy to say that 90% of all donations go directly towards one of three programs. First, GameChanger provides consoles, games, merch, and video game related items to sick kids in over 200 hospitals. Gifts of games often bring a sense of relief from the stresses that come with hospital stays. Gifts of toys, clothes, and other gaming related items can help children feel loved and at home. Second, we provide character-based scholarships for children nominated by hospital staff for their acts of courage and kindness while battling life-threatening illnesses. Alongside this, we provide kids with the necessary equipment they may require to continue their education, like books and laptops. Third, we provide emergency aid to children and their families. When children fall very ill, many families lack the resources to deal with such a tragedy, especially when their child is in hospice. We look to provide emergency funding and resources to help support families through such a big transition in their lives.

In 2022, here are just some of the things we accomplished:

- We partnered with EA to bring consoles, games, and love to hospitalized kids delivering over 825,000 hours of gaming and educational services to hospitals. We also gave gifts of EA games for kids to bring home from their hospital stays. These gifts are so much more than games. The distraction therapy they provide is a complete "game changer" for these kids.
- We donated Playwell gaming systems to 7 children’s hospitals. These systems empowered hospitalized children with the power of gaming and entertainment.
- When the war in Ukraine broke out, GameChanger sent aid to displaced Ukrainian children with illnesses.
- We were able to provided funding for 5 college scholarships to students that instead of being at school, were stuck in hospital rooms.
- We began working with top-ranking pediatric health care providers to test patients using video games to keep them on mental health, diabetes, and asthma protocols. In this program, children get video game downloads when they do their protocols.

In 2023 we'd like to:

- Expand our work with healthcare providers to further gamify pediatric patient compliance to health care protocols
- Support even more hospitals and patients by beating last year's donations and provide 1,000,000 hours of gaming
- Do a minimum of 3 "road trips for good" by personally dropping off $100k in donations to children's hospitals. One trip already completed in February where $60k of Minecraft donations were delivered to hospitals from Long Beach to Salt Lake City.
- Deliver 8 or more scholarships to kiddos who's education was impacted by hospital stays.
- Grow our community of Gamers by 20% and host 3 of our own large online gaming events support children's hospitals.

Hospitalized kids often suffer from anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges due to the environment and isolation from friends and family. GameChanger runs almost entirely on a volunteer basis. Our needs include funding via individuals and corporate partners as well as volunteers and gamers who want to run their own organic fundraisers. Help us continue to bring joy and distraction therapy to hospitalized kids!

United States (but we can support other areas on a case by case basis). For example, last year we sent aid to displaced Ukrainian children with illnesses.

GameChanger Charity is honored to be a part of this platform and community. We believe the work we do is important and we think you will too. 90% of every dollar raised goes directly to patients we support. Our partnerships with hospitals and top pediatricians enable us to go beyond what we ever imagined possible. We improve patient experience. We help kids stay connected to their communities which boosts mental health. We provide education and gaming distraction therapy which has translated to improved protocol adherence and medical outcomes.

This amazing charity has grown into a passionate and diverse team of hardworking volunteers. We are dedicated to helping children and families through the challenges that come with hospital stays. The Board of Directors is filled with industry giants who work with some of the the top gaming, tech, and healthcare providers in the world to bring premium gaming & educational experiences to Children’s Hospitals. We are all so proud to be a part of this!