24-Hour Gaming Marathon Raises $1 Million

Fanghawk

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Feb 17, 2011
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24-Hour Gaming Marathon Raises $1 Million

Extra Life has raised a million dollars for children's hospitals before the event could even begin.

Last month I wrote about <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119488-Play-Games-for-24-Hours-to-Support-Childrens-Hospitals>the Extra Life 24-Hour Videogame Marathon, in which participants take on a full day of gaming while collecting sponsorships for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. I've been following the charity since it began in 2008, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcastic_Gamer#Extra_Life_2008>when the modest $115 thousand it raised struck me as an amazing achievement for gamers to be a part of. Extra Life has grown quite a bit since then, raising over $3 million total for its good cause. Now it appears that gamers can't even wait until the event begins before they excel at fundraising efforts. According to the organization's official Twitter feed, Extra Life recently passed the $1 million mark with days to spare before the October 20th marathon.

"ExtraLife is a proud member of the pre-game day millionaires club, 13,000+ participants strong," reads the tweet. While the exact figure is unconfirmed, considering that 2011's campaign reached $1 million five hours before the marathon finished, that amount will very likely be surpassed this Saturday.

The charity was first started by the Sarcastic Gamer community as a way for gamers to provide directly to children's cancer treatment and research. After partnering with Children's Miracle Network in 2010 Extra Life was able to expand its scope, allowing participants to support local children's hospitals in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Of course, with days remaining before donations finally close Extra Life could very well become an even bigger success. The marathon will be held this Saturday, so there's still lots of time for interested persons to sign up or find a gamer to sponsor. If you personally would prefer the latter, <a href=http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=33142>please allow me to recommend someone to you.

Source: <a href=https://twitter.com/ExtraLife4Kids/status/258604958260285440>Twitter

Extra Life is not an Escapist sponsored event, and the decision to participate in the marathon is entirely my own.

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sky14kemea

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Jun 26, 2008
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Well I've been one-upped considerably.

I only have $175 so far. xD (Hopefully my total is a part of that million though!)

Good luck to yourself, and any others that signed up! It's gonna be fun! :D
 

Eleuthera

Let slip the Guinea Pigs of war!
Sep 11, 2008
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sky14kemea said:
Well I've been one-upped considerably.

I only have $175 so far. xD (Hopefully my total is a part of that million though!)

Good luck to yourself, and any others that signed up! It's gonna be fun! :D
You should probably link your sponsorship page as well, not that I want to take anything away from Marshall's total, but European Escapists might be more likely to sponsor Euro players :)
 

sky14kemea

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Jun 26, 2008
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Eleuthera said:
sky14kemea said:
Well I've been one-upped considerably.

I only have $175 so far. xD (Hopefully my total is a part of that million though!)

Good luck to yourself, and any others that signed up! It's gonna be fun! :D
You should probably link your sponsorship page as well, not that I want to take anything away from Marshall's total, but European Escapists might be more likely to sponsor Euro players :)
Not sure if that would count as advertising or not. I can always PM anyone who asks, though :D
 

Eleuthera

Let slip the Guinea Pigs of war!
Sep 11, 2008
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sky14kemea said:
Not sure if that would count as advertising or not. I can always PM anyone who asks, though :D
Yeah, you might have a point there. You could put it up as your website in your profile I guess. Still it's not really advertising... I think
 

Twyce

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Apr 1, 2009
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Love this event! Participated in it last year, and had a great time spending time with Trion on Rift. Say what you about the game, but they did an awesome job of making it fun.

Not sure what I am playing this year. Thinking Dragon's Dogma on a second playthrough. Or maybe The Sims. See how many generations I can get in 24 hours. Hmmm... *strokes chin*

I gave myself a goal of $500, but haven't it hit yet (sitting at $320). Still, thats more than last year, so I'm happy :D