Child's Play

It’s no secret that I hate the holidays with the burning passion of a thousand dying suns. I hate the commercialism and the crowds, the forced levity and the travel, and sweet holy hell I hate the Backstreet Boys Christmas Carols that they’re playing at the mall right now; I’d be perfectly happy if Christmas went away and never bothered me again.

But, I’m not a complete Grinch. If other people can enjoy the holidays, more power to them. Especially if they’re kids. Especially if they’re kids stuck in a hospital.

Child’s Play is one of the (very) few things I don’t hate about this time of year. They’ve been running since 2003, and their aim is simple: to provide games and toys for sick kids around the nation and, increasingly, around the world. I’m not a gamer - My Wii is basically a fancy machine for watching 30 Rock - and the fact that this is a “gamer’s charity” doesn’t mean anything to me. I like Child’s Play because they’re efficient (their overhead is around 2-3%) and because they’re helping kids.

The easiest way to donate is to pick a hospital (you can even pick one close to you, if that matters), and select something from their Amazon wish-list. Everything on these lists is something that a sick child wants for Christmas, and none of them are bank-breaking. You can get a kid a Nintendo game, or a Twilight movie, or whatever. Hell, one kid asked for a package of SuperBalls. These things cost six dollars. I spend more than that on lunch, and there’s some kid hoping that someone will make his goddamned Christmas and buy them for him. How can you say “no” to that?

You can also donate directly, by sending a check to:

Child’s Play 123 NW 36th Street Suite 210 Seattle, WA 98107

Or via PayPal (there’s a link on their home page), or by texting GAMERS to 50555, which will make an automatic five dollar contribution. You can also folow them on FaceBook or Twitter.

Christmas sucks, but Child’s Play rocks. I hope you’ll get involved.