Why I Extra Life, and My History in Them
7 years ago, I heard about Extra Life, though I forget exactly where I heard about it. I was still on my nonsensical kick of trying to make a living out of my hobbies, and doing something for charity seemed like a good way to get noticed. Not to say the charity aspect was something I didn’t care about, because I always look for opportunities to give when I can. But I’ll admit my intentions for the first year may have been a bit selfish.
That being said, I did nothing that year. It was not due to not believing in the cause, because I did. Rather, it was just bad timing for me. I was still in college, hyper-fixated on my studies. I had exams a month into the future and other class projects immediately looming. 6–12 hours streaming video games for charity was too much time being taken away from anything that would actually help me graduate.
This pattern would continue over for the next 2 years. I’d sign up to do something for Extra Life. Life would prove too busy for me. I would in turn not do anything for Extra Life. I’d feel a little bad about not helping Children’s Specialized Hospital, but my degree came first.
It was after I finished my last semester that I joined the local Extra Life guild. Essentially, a guild is a group of people who work together to raise money for their local Children’s Miracle Network hospital. They host meet-ups, attend conventions, and just get involved. I gone to New York Comic Con with my guild to man the Extra Life booth in conjunction with the NYC guild, as well as numerous smaller local conventions. We’ve done escape rooms together, hung out at Yestercades to have a fun day of arcade games, played with the kids at the hospital that we raise money for, and have a yearly meet-up at the guild founder’s house to play games together. (None of those happened this year, for obvious reasons.)
I met a lot of cool people in my guild, and it helped to actually expand my social circle. I won’t name names, because I know I wouldn’t appreciate it if someone may have accidentally doxxed me. But I’m glad to have made new friends. I know I can be a lousy friend, someone that doesn’t always reach out to people. But I can always be happy to know that there are people there. I can know that these people are like-minded people.
Some years ago, Extra Life was looking for volunteers to expand their Twitch presence. Still unable to get off of that BS, I was more than willing to volunteer. Unlike my previous times I tried to get into streaming, I knew that’d I’d have a set schedule that I’d be expected to stick with. There were also rules that I was expected to follow, simple things like no explicit content and no swearing.
I was also expected to deliver an elevator pitch for Extra Life as part of my duties as a member of the Extra Life Stream Team. They had a template they suggested that I use, but for the most part I freewheeled mine. (Memorizing speeches isn’t my strong suit; I’m more of a “speak from your heart” guy.) That said, I always tried to hit a certain number of points. I’d talk about Extra Life being a fundraising operation for the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. I’d talk about their yearly Game Day, where they encourage everyone to raise money for the local Children’s Miracle Network hospital. I’d mention that fundraising is a year-round thing, offhandedly saying that Game Day can be whenever is most convenient for you. If I had time, I’d show videos of the various kids that Children’s Miracle Network have treated over the years, and how Extra Life had given them another chance at living after such difficult circumstances befell them.
The Stream Team has since been dissolved around this year, as they decided that they wanted to refocus what their Twitch presence should be, but it was a good way for me to deepen my involvement with Extra Life. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before I’d apply to volunteer at my local Children’s Miracle Network hospital, the Children’s Specialized Hospital of NJ. At that point, I wouldn’t exactly say that I had a lot of success in actual fundraising, so I wanted to help in a more direct way. Now I’d get to say that I got to be a helpful part of the life of the kids at Children’s Specialized Hospital.
I’ve always believed in doing what’s best for the future, even if I tend to live in the now. I know to not waste food, and it can mean that my fridge can look a little bare. While I may not get out as much as I like, I console myself that I am not burning so much gas and contributing to climate change. (If I could ever afford an electric car, that would be even better!) I’ve never understood my father’s aversion to contributing to something that could better the world at large.
I was always taught “children are our future”. Quite frankly, it was something I never questioned throughout my life. Of course children are the future! People don’t live forever! The reality is that not everyone gets the same opportunities. Whether the thing stopping them is something systemic or an unfortunate incident that left a person handicapped, not every child gets to enjoy that future. I appreciate what the Children’s Miracle Network has been doing. Not every parent can afford the best care for their kids, and that’s where the Children’s Miracle Network comes in to make sure they have a shot of living their best life.
Why do I take part in Extra Life? Because everyone deserve a shot to be the best they can be. And I’d love to see some of these kids be given more opportunities than I had.
