Thanks to Aaron Blackman for this guest blog post about his upcoming 24-hour gaming marathon to raise money for Omaha Children’s Hospital. I urge all of you to at least stop by to watch his stream, and if you feel the urge, make a contribution to this great cause. And … thank you, Aaron, for all you’ve written about video games and e-sports for this blog.
Aaron Blackman and his Nintendo Switch
Two years ago I was listening to the guys over at Kinda Funny Games talk about their upcoming 24-hour gaming marathon, and I found myself awfully curious. The four former IGN employees had quit their jobs in 2015 and became a massive success on YouTube chatting about video games, movies, tv shows, comics…well, anything. Their 24-hour gaming marathon was to raise money for Extra Life, which in turn supports Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country.
For several weeks, the Kinda Funny members plugged their upcoming marathon in all of their shows and podcasts and encouraged their viewers to run their own fundraising marathons. In October of 2016 I had been livestreaming video games for about five months and this event sounded like a lot of fun. On top of that, it’d be for a great cause, so I signed up on a whim.
After signing up and chatting with my wife about the marathon, she reminded me that she had spent time in a children’s hospital herself when she was three after undergoing surgery for her heart. This was a detail that had sat with me throughout our relationship, but it took a gentle reminder to put two and two together. There was a personal purpose for raising money now, to give back to the kind of place that took such good care of the woman I love.
I set a goal of raising $100 for the Omaha Children’s Hospital that first year. My friends, family members and colleagues truly went above and beyond in supporting the cause, donating $1,015. My mind was blown at the support, and it happened again in 2017 when loved ones once again donated over $1000.
So here we are, two years down the road and another 24-hour marathon approaches. Nerves are starting to set in as I recall drifting off while playing Mario last year. I’m sure that each year will get more and more difficult to pull off an entire day of gaming on my own, but it’s absolutely worth the effort to stay awake and entertain. My Mountain Dew is chilling, my camera and green screen are set, and I’m ready to raise money #ForTheKids.
For anyone interested in donating to the Omaha Children’s Hospital, my donation page is located here: https://www.extra-life.org/participant/blackman.
The 24-hour stream begins Friday November 9 at 10am CST and will be livestreamed at https://www.twitch.tv/flagg05.