Unity Event: Extra Life Charity Drive and Gameathon

[Maressa]

I've been reading a lot of calls to do some sort of charity drive and I think it is a fantastic idea. So fantastic in fact that I've gone about organizing an Extra Life team for City of Heroes players, devs and anyone else who wants to join in. The City of Heroes community has always been known as one of the most charitable of all the MMO communities out there. This is another chance for us to be the heroes. Last year Paragon Studios took part in Extra Life as did thousands of others around the world. This year we're inviting everyone to join us for a fun filled day in City of Heroes raising money for children's hospitals around the world. The City of Heroes Extra Life team is working with Real World Hero and the Titan network on this event to make the in game portion of the event huge.

I imagine right about now you might have a few questions about Extra Life, how you can get involved and maybe some others I haven't thought of. Instead of writing huge paragraphs I'm going to go for a list. So here are some answers to questions might have!

1.   What is Extra Life? A 24 hour gaming marathon which raises money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals around the world.
2.   When is Extra Life? Extra Life starts at 8 AM in your local timezone on Saturday October 20th and runs until 8 AM on Sunday October 21st.
3.   3. How do I sign up? Simply go to the team page and sign up from there! http://www.extra-life.org/team/CoH
4.   Who decides which hospital I'm raising money for? You do! During sign up you get to pick from a list of Children's hospitals around the world. The choice is yours. Last year I picked one that has a personal connection, one that my youngest brother went to as a baby. This year I've picked a more local hospital.
5.   How can I get involved? Sign up and ask family, friend, coworkers, even strangers if you feel brave to sponsor you. Then join us for 24 hours in City of Heroes for all the fun.
6.   I can't dedicate a full 24 hours how can I still be involved? Come to the in game events we're going to hold, tell friends about it, donate to team members.
7.   Why are there so few members? Because this is the first official announcement!
8.   What do I get from taking part? The satisfaction of having done an awesome thing, also sleep deprivation, many XPez (it's a DXP weekend), and fun with friends and the CoH community.
9.   Which server is this happening on? Ideally? All of them. But we're realistic. We know server population has been a bit low recently. For now we will say all servers and if that changes I'll be sure to update everyone.

Well, I think that has covered everything! If you have more questions post them and I'll answer them ASAP. I hope to see you all there!

[Flafty]

Its been difficult for me to play CoX lately without feeling sad, but this is something I can get behind. Count me in.

[voodoogirl]

I am up for this too

[Rae]

Can we get this stickied so it doesn't get lost ? :)

[@RedHeaded StepChild]

Hey, I'm up for this, count me in!

Ooo, a smiley for how I'll look at the end... :o

[Nafaustu]

This is a weekend I myself am not available (and this is probably a dumb question because I just can't see the answer from work), how can I become a sponser to support the effort (and give to charity :) ) even if I can't actually play that day?

[Maressa]

Hey, I'm up for this, count me in!

Ooo, a smiley for how I'll look at the end... :o

If you look that good by the end I'll be surprised. I'm super excited to see you all join the team. I should really start fundraising soon myself. I'm third in the team. :P

[Maressa]

This is a weekend I myself am not available (and this is probably a dumb question because I just can't see the answer from work), how can I become a sponser to support the effort (and give to charity :) ) even if I can't actually play that day?

If you want to sponsor someone doing the event go to the page for the City of Heroes team and donate to their hospital.

[TonyV]

Can we get this stickied so it doesn't get lost ? :)

Sure, I stickied it.

[Maressa]

Sure, I stickied it.

Thanks for the sticky TonyV! Hope you'll join the team soon. ;)

[dwturducken]

<sigh> Sadly, this is the only way I will get away with gaming for 24 hours straight, anymore...  ;)

[Maressa]

<sigh> Sadly, this is the only way I will get away with gaming for 24 hours straight, anymore...  ;)

Where better to do it than in CoH?

[Vulpy]

I'll have to settle for contributing money. The 20th is a bad day for me.

[DrakeGrimm]

Folks...I am throwing my hat in the ring.

For the last two years I have participated in in-game charity events for Real World Hero, and have been devastated that I could never contribute financially. I still can't, this year.

I will do the next best thing. I will "run" the marathon. I hope you all support me, and the rest of our team, and we'll stand tall and proud together.

My donation page is here: http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=36654

If you choose not to donate to me, I sincerely hope you find it in your hearts to support another team mate. Together, we can--and will--change the world for the better.

We are heroes. This is what we do.

[Knightward]

I need to check my schedule, but I should be able to sign up for this.  No clue how many donations I'll get though.

[Segev]

Hm. Somebody mentioned that this might conflict with a "media day" event if they ran on the same day, but I actually think this might work in coordination with such a thing, if we could work it out. I'll re-read the OP in this thread and see if anything in it would conflict with trying to invite media people to come see the game first-hand. Showing them an active charity event going on at the same time and even offering them a chance to interview participants (or to participate themselves) might be very powerful.

[Maressa]

Hm. Somebody mentioned that this might conflict with a "media day" event if they ran on the same day, but I actually think this might work in coordination with such a thing, if we could work it out. I'll re-read the OP in this thread and see if anything in it would conflict with trying to invite media people to come see the game first-hand. Showing them an active charity event going on at the same time and even offering them a chance to interview participants (or to participate themselves) might be very powerful.

It wouldn't conflict at all. I know OnRPG.com is planning on updating once an hour every 24 during the event from City of Heroes.

[Vulpy]

Hm. Somebody mentioned that this might conflict with a "media day" event if they ran on the same day, but I actually think this might work in coordination with such a thing, if we could work it out.

Yeah. That was me. I don't know why the idea of tying the two events together didn't occur to me, though. Now that you say it aloud, so to speak, it sounds brilliant.

[pandora114]

I will discuss joining in with my husband.  Gonna need Redbull and whatnot..but I know *I* will be willing to help out.  My hospital will be the IWK Grace in Halifax because 1: It's close to me 2: it's benefitted my extended family and friends (And those of my husbands coworkers)  So I will discuss this with my husband and see if I can get him to cover childcare for me on the Sunday so I can crash out.

[@RedHeaded StepChild]

So all set up! Here's my page:

http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=36640

Maybe this smiley would match how I'll look on the Sunday:  :gonk: