Extra Life Game Day – Playing Games to Help Heal Kids

On November 2, game enthusiasts played games for 25 hours to raise funds for their local CMN Hospitals.  This annual event, called Extra Life, was started in 2008 in honor of a courageous teenager named Victoria Enmon who lost her life to leukemia.

Gamers participating and raising funds for KU Medical Center Pediatrics have been planning for this day all year.  Many have been recruiting other gamers to join their teams or start a team of their own through our local Extra Life Guild.  Others have been streaming and raising funds since January 1 in order to raise as much as possible.  And still others have done both of these things and also planned their game day with friends to keep fundraising and to celebrate their success.

KC Game Days

We are fortunate to have a very committed community of gamers who give of their time and talent to help make Extra Life one of our top fundraising programs each year.  On October 26, Jessie & Billy Bledsoe and J.T. Galloway, along with a group of other friends and gamers, gathered at Veteran’s United Home Loans for their 24-hour marathon.  They streamed, participated in crazy challenges and fundraised all through the night.  Their team raised over $22,000 for KU Medical Center Pediatrics!  A special shout-out to Veteran’s United Home Loans for not only hosting their event, but for being an amazing sponsor of Jessie & her efforts with a donation of $8,000!

And to round it all off, most of our remaining gamers got together with friends and hosted their own game days on November 2.  Because it was Daylight Savings, they gamed for 25 hours!  They play games of any kind – from board games to console games – everything counts!  Our Guild President, Brie Clemens & Vice President, Lora Williams, gathered with friends for a full day of gaming, fundraising and some really fun Facebook posts and videos.  The KC Guild Team raised over $18,000 for Extra Life this year.

A KC Success Story

All-in-all, it was another successful year of gaming and fundraising, with the total raised for KU Medical Center Pediatrics currently sitting at over $58,000!  Gamers will continue to fundraise through the rest of the year, and we look forward to watching their totals grow.  As the fundraising increases, so does the help that we can provide to local kids seen here at the University of Kansas Health System and KU Medical Center Pediatrics.

Thank you to each and every gamer who worked so hard to make this year a success!