For independent local property managers Sean McKinnon and Sheyla Cormier, one post on the social news aggregation and discussion website reddit would change their current gaming experience.

At the end of March, Limestone Gamers Group was formed by Daniel Kelly after he posted a question on reddit about creating a local group for gamers in Kingston, with McKinnon and Cormier becoming some of the first members. With membership already at 70 people and interest growing for a LAN event (a gathering of people with computers or compatible gaming consoles on a local area network), the couple took it upon themselves to host a similar event.

Under the name LANimals, McKinnon and Cormier started a brand-new not-for-profit group in Kingston. At LAN parties, LANimals plans to raise money for other Kingston-area non-profits. The first event, “The LAN Before Time,” will be held from Saturday at noon to Sunday at 6 a.m. at the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) office located at 400 Elliott Ave.

Those who attend will have the opportunity to play a wide variety of games, ranging from first-person shooters, such as Overwatch and Counter-strike, to sandbox games like Minecraft. Proceeds from the two-day event will go towards the CMHA in Kingston.

Currently, a LANimals event isn’t a tournament where gamers can win prizes. Although people are more than welcome to have their own “mini tournaments,” the focus right now is to bring together people through a wide array of games.

“We spend most of our times in front of computers, and in doing so sometimes that makes us lose touch with reality and friends,” McKinnon said of gamers. “It’s one way to bring back the social aspect of computer gaming. Everyone plays with friends online, but they don’t normally meet face to face, so this is kind of a way to put faces to names.”

The social aspect of gaming is not a new concept for Cormier and McKinnon. When the couple met back in 2007 at Startek — a local customer-engagement business — the two realized they played the same computer games.

“It was a mutual love of video games that brought us together,” McKinnon said.

Fast-forward to now, and LANimals is trying to mix the community aspect of gaming with supporting a great cause. With a large meeting room rented out at the CMHA, all gamers require to be eligible to play is their own computer and power source.

Both Cormier and McKinnon have a personal connection to the CMHA. Cormier used to work at the association, with McKinnon volunteering to help develop its website. For the couple, who still donate their time there when they can, there’s no group more deserving of the donation.

“The CMHA is one of the more underrated organizations in town,” McKinnon said. “They do as much as they possibly can to help people in the community and they are often overlooked for funding. It’s a way to help them. … It’s not much but everything helps.”