Gaming Charity helps give the Gift of Play to Hospitalized Children

Michigan-based gaming charity, Gamers Outreach, teams up with University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital to bring games to kids.

MICHIGAN – December 22, 2014 – Gamers Outreach, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization within the video game industry that facilitates charity programs through the use of interactive entertainment, today announced its collaboration with the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital of Ann Arbor, Michigan to facilitate more than three hundred Xbox 360 gaming consoles in every patient’s room throughout the hospital’s facilities. The announcement comes as a result of a longstanding relationship between the two organizations and their mutual efforts to create a fun environment for children undergoing medical treatments.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital on providing access to more games to kids who undergo treatment within their facility,” says Zach Wigal, Gamers Outreach founder. “By installing Xbox 360 consoles in the hospital’s rooms designated for children, patients and families will now have access to a much wider variety of activities and entertainment, providing them with a way to interact with their friends and family during their time within the hospital.”

Gamers Outreach’s mission is to improve the lives of others through interactive technologies such as video games. The organization focuses the majority of its efforts on Project GO Kart, which provides medical-grade portable gaming carts to children’s hospitals. The mobile carts can be transported by staff from room-to-room throughout hospitals, providing relief to kids who are unable to access activities away from their bedside. Mott Children’s Hospital was the first hospital to receive a Project GO Kart donation in 2009. More than 26,000 children per year in hospitals around the country now benefit from the GO Kart program.

“At C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, we strive to make the hospital stay as comfortable as possible for our patients and families. Access to video games helps many patients feel at home,” says Paul King, Executive Director of C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. “We’re pleased to offer the new gaming consoles and continue our relationship with Gamers Outreach.”

Thanks to the efforts of Gamers Outreach, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital was able to purchase the Xbox consoles at a significant discount. Deployment is expected to begin in January, 2015. For more information on Gamers Outreach, please visit the organization’s website at www.GamersOutreach.org.

About Gamers Outreach:

Gamers Outreach is a 501(c)(3) charity organization within the video game industry. Through the power of video games and the gaming community, the organization provides recreation to children in hospitals through equipment, technology, and software that help kids cope with long-term treatment.

About C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital:

Since 1903, the University of Michigan has led the way in providing comprehensive, specialized health care for children. From leading-edge heart surgery that’s performed in the womb to complete emergency care that’s there when you need it, families from all over come to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital for our pediatric expertise. Our new hospital provides private rooms, family-centered care from caregivers who are transforming and driving the future of medicine. Learn more at WWW.MOTTCHILDREN.ORG

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