Extra Life United 2020 – Adaptability and Dedication
Extra Life United looked a little different this year, but if there is one group of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals supporters that are dedicated and adaptable, it is the Extra Lifers. Extra Life United (ELU) is an annual gaming tournament, traditionally held in-person during Children’s Hospitals Week in Orlando, Florida. This multi-day event allows gamers from across the country to gather, game, and win money for their local CMN hospital.
As the COVID-19 situation developed, it became apparent that Extra Life United 2020 would be unable to move forward as originally planned. However, the ingenuity of the Extra Life team, partnerships with industry leaders and the dedication of Extra Life gamers allowed the tournament to go virtual!
Extra Life United: Online Edition offered six video and tabletop games for participants to play over the course of three days. Kansas City was represented in PuyoPuyo, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, and Lethal League Blaze, but Uno and Splendor is where our team showed up to shine. Gamrman finished 9th of 381 in UNO, just missing a payout, but they offset that early out by personally raising $251 for KUMC!
Long-time University of Kansas Medical Center supporters Michael Oliver (Futiles) and JT Galloway (RufiOOHHH) finished in the money playing Splendor. RufiOOHHH finished 5th of 164 to bring home $820 for Kansas City kids. Futiles made it all the way to the finals, where he battled it out to finish 3rd and win $3,075 for KUMC! These players added to their ELU week totals with personal fundraising of $751 and $776 respectively.
Extra Lifers who did not participate in tournament play had the opportunity to enjoy virtual hangouts, live-streamed events, and host fundraisers! Flexing her creative muscles, Extra Life Kansas City Guild President, Brie Clemens, live-streamed an art project where donors made requests for her to draw! Extra Life Kansas City Guild Vice President, Lora Williams, actively fundraised and reached a lifetime total of $27,000 raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals!
Eighteen gamers registered to play for KU Medical Center, and of those, ten fundraised during Extra Life United, raising a total of $2,592. When combined with RufiOOHHH and Futiles’ winnings, Extra Life gamers raised $6,487 for Kansas City kids during Extra Life United 2020.
Extra Life United 2020 didn’t boast palm trees and pin-exchanges, but we are incredibly grateful for our Kansas City gamers who traded a trip to Florida for their couches because they are dedicated to playing games and healing kids no matter where they are.
To learn more about how to get involved with Extra Life, visit extra-life.org!