Since the founding of Child’s Play in 2003, each year has exceeded our expectations in a big way. Thanks to the support of the community, we’ve grown from sending a truck full of toys to Seattle Children’s Hospital to benefiting a network of over 80 hospitals worldwide. 2011 brought some incredible milestones, including breaking the $10 million mark in lifetime contributions, founding our Annual Child’s Play Golf Tournament, rolling out a full website overhaul and seeing the community activism explode via hundreds of events put on by the community. The generosity of gamers has yet again been overwhelming, and our total for 2011 is a number we both amazed and humbled by:

$3,512,345.

Let that sink in for a second. Over three and a half million dollars going to hospitals worldwide to ease the suffering of kids when they need it most. All because you, as a community, came together to make a difference. And what a difference it is.

Thank you. Thank you to the community fundraisers who invest their time and energy. To the marathoners who forgo sleep and often pride for a laugh and a donation. To supporters of us through the Humble Bundle, who chose to contribute both Child’s Play and the industry as a whole. Thank you to those who have shared our cause with friends and family, whether it be through social media, word of mouth, blog, podcast, or stream. Thank you to our corporate sponsors whose contributions show how much our industry cares. To the attendees and supporters of our Golf Tournament and our Dinner Auction. To those who sent items through Amazon, donations through Paypal, checks in the mail: thank you, thank you, thank you.

We could go on, because at the end of the day each and every one of those has contributed to that incredible number, and there aren’t enough “thank yous” in the world to truly express our gratitude.

Moving in to 2012, our bar is high: $3.5 million could be tough to beat. But if we’ve learned one thing, it is to never underestimate the generosity of the gaming community. Each year has surpassed our expectations, and we move in to 2012 with confidence and enthusiasm. THANK YOU!