Richard House Children’s Hospice’s new campaign, ‘Ready Up for Richard House’ is all about raising money and awareness. But unlike most fundraising activities, #ReadyUp can be undertaken from the comfort of your own home! The campaign encourages people with a passion for gaming to grab their controller, pick a game of their choosing and devote some hardcore gaming time to making an immediate impact on the lives of seriously ill children.

That’s what Roehampton University’s E-sports society did in June – taking on a 48 hour relay live stream to raise £300 for the London children’s hospice! When you imagine students gaming, you might think of them bunking lectures or staying up until 5am with little to no regard for the next morning’s duties. When it comes to Roehampton though, these students are seasoned pros! Orchestrating a 48 hour team live stream takes organisation and dedication. And after they finished, they could proudly say that their gaming endeavours have funded almost 4 hours of vital respite care for a child with a life-limiting condition.

Pedro Aguiar, Interim E-Sports Co-ordinator at Roehampton was behind the initiative. “Everyone at the charity came across as really genuine and we saw it as an opportunity to help to get their work out there. We love the gaming initiative, and word quickly spread around the university. Everyone was super excited to do what they love doing, but for a good cause instead of just for fun!”

 

The positive impacts of gaming on seriously ill children

Richard House children have a variety of complex health conditions. Some are wheelchair bound, and all of them experience barriers to living life as a normal child. Some of the young people who visit the hospice are big gamers. Jumping around as Mario and Luigi or scoring a goal with their favourite footballer helps them to experience life without limits, and for Pedro, this was another key reason to get involved:

“For children who are less physically able, gaming is a great way for them to socialise and enjoy some of the things they might not be able to personally do. That’s why we’re behind this campaign and why we want to make it bigger and better!”

Abdullah, a Richard House service user, is one of those young people whose life has been transformed by gaming. He lives with Pompe disease, a rare neurological condition that causes him to be wheelchair bound. Gaming has enabled him to overcome barriers posed by his condition:

“I originally got into gaming in primary school where I couldn’t go and play with the other kids and get involved in things like playing football. When I go online the players on the other end don’t know anything about my personal life and it is very easy to express myself. They don’t really judge you because they don’t know how you look and if you have any disabilities, because everything is virtual.  Gaming has helped me a lot”

The Roehampton team took it in turns to stream themselves playing their favourite games in 4 hour slots; with each member of the society reaching out to their networks and online audiences to raise the profile of Richard House and support young people like Abdullah. They also undertook forfeits when certain donation milestones were hit in order to raise extra funds!

Pedro, who is now a full time member of staff at the university, was the unfortunate victim of a few forfeits. “In terms of highlights, for the students it would have been me getting my legs waxed as they like to see me in pain! Everyone has been suffering with [eating] the chilis and that’s been a lot of fun! The clown costume has also been great, I think if the kids at the hospice see the highlight video they’d enjoy that bit”.

The team’s next fundraising challenge will involve bringing together other university gaming societies for a live stream tournament, with the aim of raising funds to develop a state of the art gaming room at the hospice for young people like Abdullah to enjoy.

 

Will you get involved!?

If you’d like to utilize your gaming skills to better the lives of seriously ill young people, you can get involved with Ready Up! This October, Richard House will be running their second Ready Up campaign, with the aim of raising £10,000 – enough to fund the running of the whole hospice for a day, giving seriously ill children and their families the support they so desperately need.

 

Roehampton E-sports have now fundraised over £800 for Richard House through live streaming, and Pedro would encourage others to give it a go:

“The main thing is to get involved! Go to the Richard House website and sign up for the challenge. Learn about the work they do for families and that will sell it to you straight away!”

If you’re not sure where to get started, Pedro has some handy tips to help you put on a fun, memorable and profitable stream:

• Just get involved in any way you can - It doesn’t have to be an elaborate 50 hour marathon, just use the resources you have and don’t overextend yourself.
• A stream is successful if it’s planned – Having a schedule and making sure everyone is on board will help it to be a success.
• Make it engaging – You can incorporate giveaways to encourage people to donate. While people are watching you want to grab their attention – so let people know about challenges and forfeits you’ll undertake if they help you reach a fundraising milestone!

 

To sign up to Ready Up and make an instant impact on the lives of seriously ill children through gaming, you can sign up for free on the Richard House website and we’ll send you everything you need to get started!

Good luck and we’ll see you in the game!

Sign up today