Donate Games Opens for Fund Raising

So, you’ve just pulled a marathon gaming session on LEGO Batman, earned yourself every achievement for that 1000/1000 gamerscore, and now you’re trying to figure out what to do with the game next. Here’s a thought: Why not donate it to a good cause?

Yesterday marked the official opening of Donate Games, a new charity dedicated to funding research for orphan diseases and supporting those affected by them through the donation and resale of used video games. An orphan disease is defined as a disease affecting less than .05% of the world’s population, typically genetic in origin and either life-threatening or chronically debilitating. Because of their rarity, orphan diseases are often overlooked for funding and public support. In addition to raising funds for research on these rare disorders, Donate Games will promote awareness and provide advisory services to the general public.

Donate Games was conceived by IT industry veteran Jim Carol and his wife Cynthia after their son’s diagnosis with a rare form of leukemia, called Philadelphia Chromosome, in 2006. While the Carols were fortunate and their son is now in remission, they met others who were facing even harder times.

According to Jim, “We were lucky. Treatments and community support really made a difference for him. But, we met others at the treatment centers that had little hope, suffering from even rarer life-threatening conditions, without research funding, effective treatments or support networks. By launching Donate Games and connecting with the vibrant gaming community so near and dear to my own professional background, now we can help them, too.”

The way the charity works is surprisingly simple. Gamers donate their games to the charity in return for a tax credit equal to or even greater than the credit they would usually receive by trading the game in for store credit at a store. Gamers can then buy games donated by other contributors, picking up the secondhand games and knowing the money is going to a good cause. And once you finish the new game, you can always donate it back to Donate Games and start the cycle all over again.

“Gamers already have an amazing capacity to give,” adds Josh Sommer, a spokesman for Donate Games and founder of the Chordoma Foundation, one of the benefiting organizations of the new charity. “All we’re really doing is making it as easy as possible for gamers to support others and get funding to those who so desperately need it. Donate games, buy games, save lives - it’s that simple.”