It’s hard to believe we’re only a month away from Hoop & Stick Con 2014! As the convention approaches, and our Winter of Gaming wraps up, I wanted to take a moment to speak a bit about Hoop & Stick, and more importantly Child’s Play, the charity that Hoop & Stick is all about.

What is Child’s Play?

Child’s Play is a charity set up by gamers, dedicated to improving the lives of children in hospitals by providing them with toys and games. The charity works with a network of children’s hospitals across the country. The hospital staffs create wish lists of games, toys, books and other fun stuff that the kids in their care would enjoy. Then the charity uses the money it raises to purchase those items. The donations allow for children to enjoy age-appropriate entertainment, interact with their peers, friends, and family, and can provide vital distraction from an otherwise generally unpleasant experience.

Why Do We Support Child’s Play?

There are a lot of causes in the world, and a lot of great charities that try to deal with them. With so many places to put our charitable time and money, why do we support this one?

Our first daughter was born in 2002. Early in her life she had a brief stay in Akron Children’s Hospital. The people we met there, both the wonderful hospital staff and the children they were caring for, left an indelible impression on our young family. Child’s Play started up the very next year with the express purpose of helping children in hospitals, and we knew we wanted to be a part of it. We’ve been avid supporters of the cause ever since, and when we purchased Ravenwood Castle we knew we had a special opportunity to help out.

Donation Drive

And you have an opportunity to help out as well. Though rooms for Hoop & Stick have been sold out for months, we still have off site tickets available. You can come join us for the weekend, game to your heart’s content, and help raise money for Child’s Play.

If you’re not able to join us, or if you just aren’t that interested in gaming (it’s ok, we know you’re out there!), we also have an online donation drive!  Head on over to the Hoop & Stick page, and make a donation on the right side of the page.

Transparency

It’s important that our efforts to raise money for Child’s Play are as transparent as possible. So here’s how it works:

Every ticket that is sold for Hoop & Stick costs $75. Of that, $25 is for Saturday’s dinner, the remaining $50 goes to Child’s Play. We also donate 50% of all room rentals for the weekend to Child’s Play. These amounts will be collected by Ravenwood Castle as attendees settle their charges on the final day of the convention, and we then contribute the funds through the donation widget.

We also raise funds through our Silent Auction. Winners of the auction make their payments directly to the Child’s Play donation widget, meaning Ravenwood Castle never has to touch those funds. You can check out some of our great auction donors and sponsors on the right side of the Hoop & Stick page.

Online donations through the donation drive work the same. When you submit a donation through the link on our site, it goes directly to Child’s Play.

So help us raise some funds to make some sick kids just a little bit happier. Buy an offsite ticket. Make an online donation. Or call us about sponsoring Hoop & Stick or donating items for the silent auction.

It’s really not difficult to help.  In fact, it’s as easy as Child’s Play!

Jim Reed

Jim Reed is a lifelong gamer who started with the original red box Dungeons & Dragons. After spending 20 years in the corporate world, he decided it was high time that work be fun and struck out on his own. Jim now owns and operates Ravenwood Castle, and spends his days ensuring his guests have as much fun as he does.