Great Ormond Street Hospital's gaming fundraiser will help more than you know

Video games are a power for good. Despite a long-held belief by many conservative outlets and those unfamiliar with the industry - it’s often thought that games are a corrupting media filled with violence - video games are, now more than ever, an inclusive space that constantly strives towards happiness and greatness. You don’t have to look far to see how gaming benefits the world as a whole.

Practically every week there’s a new multiplayer game released that can bring people together; games like Animal Crossing and Among Us made the Covid pandemic feel much less isolating; and there are always fundraisers, supported by gaming, to give much needed financial resources to charities in desperate need of funding.

Charity fundraising has become a major aspect of the streaming industry, with thousands of creators coming together to provide entertainment in an attempt to raise funds, or spread awareness. With events like Build Against Cancer, which aims to raise money for kids fighting cancer in St Jude’s Hospital, and GDQ which benefits the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders, gamers can help out those less fortunate than others.

Among Us - InnerSloth

Why am I bringing this to your attention? Well, for one, it’s an aspect of gaming that I think we can all take pride in. As a community, we can come together, no matter our differences, and provide essential funds for charities wanting to make the world and happier and easier place for those suffering.

The other reason is that an upcoming event is supporting a charity that is very dear to me, and I’d like to take a moment to highlight the important work that’s going on, from a first-hand experience. Commencing 9 March, and running through to 16 March, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) will be hosting a fundraiser, bringing together streamers and creators who will be playing a variety of games in the hopes of raising money for one of the UK’s leading children’s hospitals.

Great Ormond Street Hospital is aiming to fund their cancer centre with help from gamers

Money raised will be put towards the new children’s cancer centre on-site at the London hospital, bringing both care and research to kids suffering from cancer. GOSH also supports parents who need to stay near their child when receiving treatment.

While my own experience with GOSH doesn’t come from a child diagnosed with cancer, the hospital and charity became a big part of my life in 2007, when my three-year-old daughter was treated there after a tragic car accident caused severe brain damage. Amelia was rushed to the London hospital a few hours after she received her injuries and spent five days there, in a medically induced coma.

During those days, she had two operations; the first, a craniectomy which removed a large portion of her skull to allow her brain to swell without compression against the bone. The second, was to attempt to reduce the swelling further. Amelia received a couple of blood transfusions, she was cared for by a team of nurses, surgeons, and specialists around the clock, and myself and a member of my family were given a room to stay in just a two-minute walk from the intensive care ward.

Sadly, Amelia succumbed to injuries as they began to worsen. The swelling in her brain abated a little, but scans showed that there was no longer any definition between the white and grey brain cells, which meant there was no brain activity. For all the teams did, she lost around 80% of her brain. She also began to develop pneumonia, and I decided to remove life support, which I believed would only prolong her decline.

I'll Be Brave, Tomorrow - InkForge Studios

Once the decision was made, with the help of the specialists, they took care of her final moments. The teams at GOSH pulled together local emergency care teams and brought family to the hospital to say their goodbyes. They provided counselling, they aided our family after her death. I was left reeling, but also appreciative that this service was available to me, my daughter, and my family. Most importantly, this is provided to families across the UK at no cost to them. And this is possible through the NHS service, but also because of important donations made by members of the public.

I saw, first hand, where that money goes. It pays for supplies, it pays for treatments, and it goes towards vital research to improve the knowledge around diseases, ailments, and injuries. During the short five days I was at the hospital with Amelia, I gave permission for researchers to come to her bedside and monitor her brain waves, the swelling within her brain, and how it impacted her eyes. They wanted to take the chance to learn more, in the hope that the details they gleaned would aid another child down the line. If this is where our money goes, I can only see this as a huge positive.

Cult of the Lamb - Devolver Digital

While this latest fundraising event will focus on childhood cancers and their treatments, I can stand here and proclaim that any penny they raise will support the precious lives of children, and the families that surround them. No parent should have to bury their child, or watch them suffer, I know that feeling.

There are a few ways you can help. If you’re a streamer or creator, you can sign up at Tiltify and set up your own fundraiser, which puts the money directly with GOSH. You can, of course, donate, or help spread the word of the fundraising event. Or, and this one benefits you too, you can buy games on Steam, through the GOSH sale - Play It, Build It, Beat It.

Various games have been collected together by GOSH and Team17 to provide discounts on a wealth of titles. Some of my favourites are included, like Cult of the Lamb, Potion Permit, Nobody Saves the World, and Let’s Build a Zoo. A portion of your purchases will go to directly support GOSH and the new building of the new cancer centre. Let’s continue to prove that gaming is a positive force in the world, and that our community can help change the world for the better.