Fun for Our Troops was founded back in October of 2007 when my husband left for his second tour in Iraq with the 101^st Airborne Division (yay Screaming Eagles!).  I am beyond proud to say that since then FFOT has had the privilege of sending 288 video game care packages to individual troops as well as units deployed around the world.  We could not have accomplished so much without the help of 193 unique donors that have included individuals, gaming communities, and small and large gaming companies.  THANK YOU!  It has also been an honor to have the support of other game industry charities, most notably Get-Well Gamers (http://www.get-well-gamers.org/).  Get-Well Gamers has donated over 1000 games to our cause and were the first charity to partner with us.  Their initial donation truly got FFOT up and running!     

Thank you to all of our supporters, large and small!  Every game donation and every dollar truly helps us achieve our goal to boost the morale of deployed troops!  We couldn’t do it without you! 

This three-disc set for PC, which includes “Peggle,” “Bejeweled Twist” and “Bookworm Adventures,” will go to deployed U.S. troops around the world.

“Everyone on the outreach committee was really excited to donate to Gamers Outreach Foundation,” said Katie Cox, Facilities and Culture Coordinator at PopCap Games. “We’re all very happy we could help such a great cause.”

Stefanie Shea, a Gamers Outreach Director, said PopCap’s donation will help make the lives of hundreds of troops a little bit better.

“I am amazed by the enormity of the donation – both in generosity and physical size,” Shea said. “These games will provide endless hours of entertainment to our armed forces.”

Gamers Outreach is currently working with U.S. Army MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) at Fort Dix, N.J. to distribute these games to deployed troops throughout the next month.

PopCap Games donated 1,700 copies of “Ultimate Challenge: Trendsetting Game Collection” to be sent out to our Armed Forces.

About Gamers Outreach Foundation

Gamers Outreach Foundation is a video-game industry charity organization that uses interactive entertainment to improve the lives of others. Simply put, we use video games to help people out, and we do this through three unique initiatives: Project Go Kart, Fun for Our Troops and Gaming4Others.

About PopCap Games

PopCap Games is the leading global developer, publisher and operator of casual video games: fun, easy-to-learn, captivating games that appeal to all ages across PC, mobile, social and other platforms. Based in Seattle, Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of more than 350 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Vancouver, B.C., Dublin, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo. PopCap’s games have been downloaded over 1.5 billion times by consumers worldwide, and its flagship franchise, Bejeweled®, has sold more than 50 million units.

Fun For Our Troops and Gamers Outreach are raising money to donate a gaming cart (GO Kart) to Dallas VA Medical Center in Dallas, TX.  Thanks to GO Karts, hospital staff members are able to easily transport video games and other sources of entertainment to patients who have a limited amount of access to activities outside of their rooms. Long-term hospitalization can often times be a lonely, stressful, and frightening experience. GO Karts help to ease the burdens associated with hospital stays by providing sources of relief to patients. Gamers Outreach provides GO Karts to children’s hospitals and is excited to expand the project to serve our veterans. The Veteran’s Affairs North Texas Health Care System Hospital is the first of many VA hospitals we hope to work with.  To make a monetary donation, please click here:

We are teaming up with the independent game publisher, Wicked Interactive, to launch a special campaign to benefit this project. Starting December 1st, Wicked Interactive will donate one dollar for every new Mission Against Terror (M.A.T.) account and character created through our website.  This is an incredibly simple way to support the efforts of our organization. All you have to do is click the image below, create a FREE account on the M.A.T. website, create a character in M.A.T., and enjoy playing the game! That’s it!! When your account and character have been created, Wicked Interactive will donate $1.00 towards our project GO Kart to benefit Dallas VA Medical Center!

In honor of the brave men and women of the Armed Forces, we here at GamersOutreach.org are taking Veteran’s Day and instead making it “Veteran’s Month”. The entire month of November will be focused across a variety of events with the goal of raising money to support our veterans. We have added a “donate” button to our website and all of the funds raised in November will go directly towards purchasing a portable game kiosk, called a GO Kart (Gamers Outreach Kart), for the Veteran’s Affairs North Texas Health Care System Hospital. Thanks to GO Karts, hospital staff members are able to easily transport video games and other sources of entertainment to patients who have a limited amount of access to activities outside of their rooms. Long-term hospitalization can often times be a lonely, stressful, and frightening experience. GO Karts help to ease the burdens associated with hospital stays by providing sources of relief to patients. Gamers Outreach provides GO Karts to children’s hospitals and is excited to expand the project to serve our veterans. The Veteran’s Affairs North Texas Health Care System Hospital is the first of many VA hospitals we hope to work with.

Please continue to visit GamersOutreach.org throughout the month of November to view new content, details about November events, and for other ways that you can help us say “thank you” to the troops.

CLICK ON THE BANNER ABOVE TO DONATE VIA PAYPAL/CREDIT CARD.  PLEASE INDICATE THAT YOU ARE DONATING TO SUPPORT VETERANS MONTH.   THANK YOU!

If you’re interested in supporting the Fun For Our Troops initiative, this is a great opportunity to participate in a fundraiser by making a donation to Gamers Outreach! Donors who make contributions in increments of $10.00 will automatically be entered into our Hummer giveaway. We’ll be announcing the winner at PAX Prime! Here’s how you can get involved…

Online: Online donations will be accepted through our website (see Google Checkout donation link below). Each $10.00 donation will qualify donors for our Hummer give away. Donors have the opportunity to qualify multiple times by making donations in $10.00 increments. Donors who make contributions online will qualify for two giveaways. The first giveaway will take place on Friday, September 3rd, which will award preliminary prizes exclusively to individuals who made donations online. Prizes include 2 RockBand bundles, Tritton Earbuds, and a custom Xbox 360 watch. The hummer giveaway will take place on Saturday, September 4th live from PAX. Donors will be able to qualify for the hummer giveaway until midnight September 1st.

At PAX: PAX attendees will have the opportunity to be a part of the giveaway by making donations live at the Tritton booth (Booth #3217). Donations will be accepted until 5:30 PM on Saturday, September 4th. An exclusive giveaway will then commence for individuals who make donations at PAX. Prizes include a Tritton gaming backpack, a Tritton AX180 headset, and a Tritton AX720 headset. After the giveaway is complete, both online donations and PAX donations will be combined, and the winner of The Hummer will be announced.

Contributors do not need to be present to win. The Hummer will be shipped to the winner by mail. Donations will be used to benefit Fun For Our Troops, and will help Gamers Outreach supply games and interactive entertainment packages to troops currently serving overseas.

If you’re going to be at PAX Prime, swing on by the Tritton booth, check out The Hummer, and help support the cause by making a donation!

Let us know if you have any questions by stopping by our Contact page and dropping us a line. Major thanks go out to those who participate! Fun For Our Troops would also like to send out a huge thank you to Ashleigh “Venus Envy” Ryan, Tritton Technologies, and Chris “Omega” Ruble of Gamer-Grafix.

Fun for Our Troops recently collected game donations at PAX East in Boston, MA at the Tritton (http://www.trittontechnologies.com/) and Gunnar (http://www.gunnars.com/) booth. 

This was a great success and we look forward to working with these awesome companies in the future!

 Also thanks to Astro (http://www.astrogaming.com/) for their support at PAX East!

The American Red Cross of Lower Bucks County collected supplies to
send individual care packages to locally deployed military personnel who are
stationed overseas. Supplies were collected from March 15, 2010 to
April 9, 2010 at the local Chapter. Supplies were shipped to individuals
via care packages and through partners at Ft. Dix military installation.
Packages and supplies were shipped on April 12, 2010 so that military per-
sonnel who are stationed overseas can receive these items in honor of Armed
Forces Day on May 15, 2010. This project is the Red Cross’s way of showing our sup-
port for our uniformed heroes and thanking them for their service to our
country.

For more information on The Lower Bucks County Red Cross:

http://www.redcrosslbcc.org/LBCCNew/AFES.html

http://www.facebook.com/redcross.lowerbucks

 https://twitter.com/redcrosslbcc