Mayhem Meets Extra Life
A weekend fundraising for a cause
For those who are not familiar, Extra Life is an organization encouraging gamers to dedicate their hobby toward raising money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. I dedicate some of my gaming time and involvement to fundraising for this organization. Extra Life hosts many organized events throughout the year. I really try to hop on those as much as I can. They also encourage gamers to do their own fundraising, which is what we did this last weekend.
My friend Vermont Gamer and I, were at a local convention, Mayhem Gaming Convention for its inaugural event. We saw many familiar faces from other local-regional events, but we also saw many from far away. Being the first year for this convention, we (as well as the Con’s organizers) were super taken away by the participation. Cons are really great for connecting with others and exploring your hobbies. For me, playing with new folks is the best part.
Though this event wasn’t focused on games that are typically my flavor (miniature games), I still found many things to connect with folks on. We connected over the places we call home, other conventions we’ve been to, and the general love of gaming. There were even a couple of folks who were comfortable getting vulnerable to share their own connections with the cause of supporting children’s hospitals. It was amazing.
I feel connected in new ways to Extra Life and the gaming community at large. What a group of fun, talented, and generous individuals. Though I didn’t play any games I still had so much fun. Vermont Gamer and I are looking for more local-regional cons for us to fundraise at. If you know of any, connect with our discord and let us know! If you haven’t done in-person fundraising, I highly recommend it.