Child's Play
Christmas season is upon us, and it's a good time to be thinking about how to help other people. Back when I lived in Clemson, I liked to get kids from HeadStart presents (they had a tree with paper ornaments the kids had made with gift requests). I always thought it was depressing how many kids wanted gloves and coats. Ithaca has more public spots for dropping off warm clothes, food, and toys, but I haven't found a similar ornament program to the one we had in Clemson that was within a thirty-minute drive.
Around this time last year, I was thinking about this situation, when I learned about a relatively new charity set up by the guys who write the webcomic Penny Arcade (generally not for kids or grandparents). It's called Child's Play, and its basic goal is to prove that gamers are caring, compassionate people by giving comfort to hospitalized kids. While you can donate money, most people just select a hospital from the map, which takes them to an Amazon.com wishlist. From there, you can browse the list and pick out a toy, game, movie, etc that you'd like to donate, add it to your cart, use the hospital's shipping address link, and pay. It's really simple, and you have the chance of giving the kids something that you would love (I donated the first season of Fraggle Rock to a children's hospital in the Bronx).
I realize this charity doesn't help prevent diseases or find cures, but those opportunities are always present. I've seen a lot of people saying that if you want to help sick kids, you should help medical researchers fight the diseases themselves. Maybe this would be better in the long run, but if we are willing to give poor children toys at Christmas, shouldn't we reach out to the ailing as well? Child's Play offers an immediate release to kids who are sick and suffering in hospitals instead of at home with their families at Christmas time. If Fraggle Rock can make a child smile and help ease his boredom, if it can help him keep a positive attitude, then in my book, it's well worth the cost.
Around this time last year, I was thinking about this situation, when I learned about a relatively new charity set up by the guys who write the webcomic Penny Arcade (generally not for kids or grandparents). It's called Child's Play, and its basic goal is to prove that gamers are caring, compassionate people by giving comfort to hospitalized kids. While you can donate money, most people just select a hospital from the map, which takes them to an Amazon.com wishlist. From there, you can browse the list and pick out a toy, game, movie, etc that you'd like to donate, add it to your cart, use the hospital's shipping address link, and pay. It's really simple, and you have the chance of giving the kids something that you would love (I donated the first season of Fraggle Rock to a children's hospital in the Bronx).
I realize this charity doesn't help prevent diseases or find cures, but those opportunities are always present. I've seen a lot of people saying that if you want to help sick kids, you should help medical researchers fight the diseases themselves. Maybe this would be better in the long run, but if we are willing to give poor children toys at Christmas, shouldn't we reach out to the ailing as well? Child's Play offers an immediate release to kids who are sick and suffering in hospitals instead of at home with their families at Christmas time. If Fraggle Rock can make a child smile and help ease his boredom, if it can help him keep a positive attitude, then in my book, it's well worth the cost.
posted by megan at
7:58 PM
2 Comments:
Many people would argue that it's the thought that counts. If you're willing to help and reach out to children in need or suffering from diseases, you can do so in whatever manner you think would benefit them.
By
Anonymous, at 1:07 AM
Oh wow, thanks so much for posting this. I've been reading Penny Arcade for years but have been paying less attention to all my favorite webcomics lately, so I somehow missed Child's Play. It's a great idea; I'm going to go check out their lists.
By
RebeccaP, at 9:04 AM
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