VGXPO Kicks Off Gamers for Community Outreach Program
Video Game Expo teams up with the Free Library of Philadelphia, Philabundance and the Ronald McDonald House Charities to engage its attendees in a ‘Gamers For Community’ charity drive.
Philadelphia (August 31, 2009) – Video Game Expo (VGXPO) announces today the ‘Gamers for Community’ charity drive, an outreach program designed to support the people and communities in the greater Philadelphia region. Using VGXPO as the staging point for the Gamers for Community program, the organizers hope to collect pre-owned games, food, and cash donations for local community groups.
“After the success of VGXPO in 2008, my family and I discussed how we could leverage the massive number of attendees, and the overall spirit of ‘brotherly love’ in Philadelphia, and do good things with it,” stated Ed Fleming, founder of VGXPO. “With the Gamers for Community program we will be able to reach the hearts of our attendees, and show people just how caring the folks living in this city are.”
The Gamers for Community program is working with three community organizations, including the Free Library of Philadelphia and its 54 neighborhood branches, Philabundance (the region’s largest hunger relief organization) and the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Each organization has unique needs and the VGXPO organizational team is working with these groups to support these needs by reaching out to the expo’s attendees and asking for help.
“When Ed (my brother) and I started to develop the ideas for this program we wanted to be sure that it would be beneficial to the community groups we were working with and that it would be an easy decision for the VGXPO attendees to participate in,” said Brandon Nieginski, Community Outreach Coordinator for VGXPO. “I believe what we’ve developed has reached this goal, but in addition, the program will also provide the attendees with a thank you for participating by providing them with either discounts, or free admission, to VGXPO.”
The Gamers for Community outreach program has three distinct programs and each one helps the Philadelphia region and the people living in it. These programs include:
Gamers for Community Game Drive
VGXPO is working with the Free Library of Philadelphia to collect pre-owned Wii and Game Cube software and Wii hardware systems. With the Parkway Central Library and 53 neighborhood libraries in Philadelphia, the system sees thousands of children each day throughout the year. Many parents send their kids to the libraries after school, and through the summer while they are at work. With the decline in the monies provided by state and city budgets the Free Library of Philadelphia faces incredible challenges as it looks for ways to provide support for these children.
“The American Library Association has noted that ‘gaming is a powerful tool for both literacy and learning’,”said Siobhan Reardon, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia. “At the Free Library, our librarians are acutely aware that programming that includes gaming helps us to draw in and retain the attention of children when they are in their most vulnerable teenage years. When students game, they engage in basic problem solving strategies, in reading about games and technological innovations, and often express their own creativity.”
In some locations, the libraries have dedicated media spaces with movies and games, but there are only a handful of game systems and software throughout the 54 locations. With the Gamers for Community program, VGXPO hopes that it can help in bringing Nintendo games to every location. VGXPO is providing $10 off admission for individuals that donate either one Wii, or Game Cube, game, and free admission (for up to 10 people) for each Wii game system that is donated.
Gamers for Community Food Drive
Philabundance is the region’s largest hunger relief organization that works to end hunger in and malnutrition in the Delaware Valley by acquiring food and distributing it through organizations serving people in need. The hidden nature of poverty and hunger makes us less aware of its prevalence in our communities, but hunger exists in all communities. Hunger has many faces, and touches more than 900,000 individuals in the Delaware Valley.
“VGXPO’s Gamers for Community is a wonderful program that will benefit people in need of food in Philadelphia and beyond,” said Martha Buccino, senior vice president and chief development officer, Philabundance. “Philabundance is grateful for their support and commitment to giving back to the community.”
To help Philabundance VGXPO is providing $10 off admission for individuals that donate either three cans of tuna; or three boxes of mac and cheese; or one jar of peanut butter and one jar of jelly.
Gamers for Community Drive for Childhood Health and Family Support
The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Ronald McDonald Houses around the world offer families a way to stay together, in proximity to the treatment hospital, and be comfortable and cared for during their stay.
To support the Ronald McDonald House Charities, VGXPO has developed a donation program that will provide RMHC with a cash donation. Starting September 11th and running through October 11th, gamers will be able to go one of over 300 McDonald’s and pick up a coupon for discount admission to VGXPO. A portion of the proceeds from each coupon redeemed (either online, or at the door) will be then donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
