25 Hours Can Truly Make a Difference! Join Us For The Extra Life Marathon.

Gamers usually start out falling in love with video games at a very young age. I know I can’t remember a time when I didn’t play, so it makes sense that we would encourage and support our youth through the same medium that makes us feel so young at heart. And what better way to do that than to take those games and do a marathon for children who need our support the most, because they’re sick or injured?

Extra Life has created a great way to join a worldwide event that will raise money for kids all over the world, and members of Gamer Living will be straining our eyes and getting the good old ‘Nintendo thumb’ for the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, including Toronto Sick Kids and McMaster Children’s Hospital, this weekend from November 2 at 8:00AM (EST) to November 3 at 8:00AM (EST). Thanks to Daylight Savings, this actually works out to be 25 hours of non-stop gaming, fed live through our Gamer Living Twitch feed!

Everybody has their own reasons to support charities through their own fundraising. Some may have fought and won the battle for life; others still may have watched someone they love lose that fight. There are even people who fundraise simply because they see how a little bit of help can go a long way. Events like Extra Life do more than just support sick kids – they bring people together to remind us that as a community, in large numbers, we can do more than trying to go it alone.

Why do I want to raise money for sick kids? My story isn’t uncommon, and has roots in many peoples’ lives. I’ve known several kids who needed care, and places like McMaster Children’s Hospital specialize in helping kids and their families through some of the darkest times of their life.

My friend Spenser fought and won his battle with Leukemia, and was in remission going into his adulthood. We were all so very grateful. At my father’s funeral, it all fell apart again. Spenser and I were hanging out together talking when he broke the news to me: the cancer had returned. He hadn’t told his family yet because in his mind, he would be ‘stealing the thunder’ away from his sister being pregnant, and wanted her to have her moment. That was typical Spenser. His sister is one of my closest friends, and I knew at the time she’d throttle him for even thinking of not telling his family. But we all knew he’d be the last person to want people making a fuss over him. I told him what anyone would: he needed to tell his family, beat this thing, and we’d have drinks at my wedding to celebrate.

He still owes me that drink.

A few months after he passed away, they discovered a treatment for his type of Leukemia, and while it was too late for him, so many more children will be saved thanks to the hard work and dedication of people who care enough to put their lives into finding a better way. Without our support, new treatments and advancements that could literally save lives aren’t always a possibility. McMaster Children’s Hospital, Toronto Sick Kids, and their affiliates give kids a better chance at life, and a quality of living that they might otherwise not have.

For parents who have outlived their children, for the children still fighting to survive, and for a best friend with a hole in her heart where her brother used to be that nobody else can ever truly fill. Not every story has a happy ending, but they give us a drive to keep pushing, keep hoping, and knowing that in some corner of the universe, our efforts mean somebody else won’t have to live through the same kind of pain. If 25 hours can make the difference in even one child’s life, it’s worth every second. Join us on November 2nd and show your support in any way you can. Donate, keep us entertained and awake, or even send a shout out and let other people know this is going on!