When we think of what people in need need, Settlers of Catan usually doesn’t make the list. But maybe it should. Years back, when Danielle Kaufmann (Reddit user dambedani) and her family were evicted from their home and forced onto the streets, playing secondhand board games by candlelight was their only escape, the one thing that helped them take their minds off their broken situation.

“They kept us sane, they kept us laughing, they opened up a door to new friendships,” she tells Upvoted.

Kaufmann, who lives in Crofton, Maryland and now manages a game store, wanted to help others who might need some joy and connection, too. In Reddit’s Board Games community, she posted this offer: “Let me buy you a board game!” She invited redditors to send her their address, and she would mail them a board game, no strings attached.

Her inbox was filled with more than 13,000 requests. (Note: The offer is now closed.) Spending about $8,000 of her own money, along with $440 in donations from redditors, she was able to mail out 283 games to people around the world.

Here’s the redditor with some game boxes before they were shipped to their new homes. She calls herself “Board Game Santa.”

“I know firsthand what it’s like to have nothing but the basic necessities.” Kaufmann explains. “You have a roof over your head, some food in your stomach. But you want to buy a birthday present, something for yourself because you worked so hard that week and you deserved it damnit, but other needs come first.”

She and her husband both served in the army. When he retired and they moved from Korea back to the States, it was incredibly difficult to find jobs. They weren’t able to pay rent, and would have to sell their electronics and anything else with value in order to feed his son.

“If I can bring a family or group of friends together and make them forget about all the other stresses of their day, their life, or their jobs, then I know I’ve succeeded,” she says.

Board games are a great gift for those in need because you don’t need electricity to play, and they provide wonderful social interactions for families or groups of friends. Many asked Kaufmann how they can help her with this generous project.

“If you want to really support me, I’d say donate some games to cancer wards at the hospitals near you,” she wrote. “Seriously, they are always looking for games.”