Doing Good Spotlight: Turning a Gaming Hobby into a Force for Charity for Children in Need
When it comes to doing good, Samantha Hughes, has turned her gaming hobby into real dollars for the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Since starting her team in 2019, they have raised $14,500 for their local children’s hospital through Extra Life.
Samantha initially learned of this event from entertainment company Rooster Teeth, which did a huge gaming stream for Extra Life. At the time, Samantha was simply donating to other players, but soon, she found herself getting involved to do a little more.
Extra Life supports the Children’s Miracle Hospital Network (CMHN). Players can choose a local hospital to them, or one of the many CMHN hospitals that extend their support internationally. They do this solely from others donating and supporting players. And, it’s more than just supporting a good cause for donators—they can also impact the games by making donations that influence the outcome for players.
This November will mark the 6th year that Samantha and her team have participated in the marathon, and she will be using her VTO time to support that effort. The team works almost like a relay in that they take shifts and hand off to others so that no one person must play for 24 hours continually—though that can if they want to!
Recently, she has also been able to participate in a local convention where she played live for an audience. No pressure, right Samantha?
Growing up, Samantha would volunteer at school, with the YMCA, and Girls Scouts, but like many admits she wasn’t consistent as she got older. Getting involved in Extra Life, and Lurie’s Hospital, gave her a sense of trust. Lurie’s sends out information regularly as to how the fund are being used. Donation dollars have gone to the purchase of new equipment, treatments, support for the families, kids' games, emotional support animal visits, among other things. “I like this because I know where the money goes and how it’s used,” she explains.
To her, this is about being able to do a little bit more for her community. In addition, Samantha and her husband recently became foster dog parents for Players for Pits—a Chicago Blackhawks supported charity that helps rescue pit bulls.
Extra Life is open to anyone worldwide. If you are interested, and would like to join Samantha’s team, contact Samantha. She is open to anyone from Atlas joining. If you don’t have a local Children’s hospital as part of the network supported, there are great opportunities to pick other hospitals. Sign up is easy and resources are provided to help all players be successful.