Gamers Raise $11,000 for Children’s Hospitals

July 2, 2008 - PRLog -- Video game enthusiasts Brian Brinegar, Dan May and John Groth raised $11,225 for Child’s Play, a game industry charity which donates games, toys, and books to over 40 hospitals worldwide, by broadcasting a live fifty-seven hour Super Mario Brothers Marathon over the weekend.

The three former Purdue University roommates reunited for one weekend to benefit the charity by playing nearly twenty-five years worth of Super Mario games, beginning with 1985’s Super Mario Bros. and ending days later with the Italian Plumber’s latest adventure Super Mario Galaxy.

“It’s unbelievable, we blew past our first $1,500 goal in the first two hours of the event,” said Brian, event coordinator, “I’m glad we were able to raise awareness of the great work Child’s Play does.” The event went on to average nearly two-hundred dollars per hour in donations, crossing the $10,000 mark Sunday afternoon.

“We really got to see how the gaming community pulled together to support the team”, said Kristin Lindsay, Child’s Play Project Manager, “The money raised will make a huge impact in the Child's Play partner hospitals.”

The broadcast, which reached nearly one-hundred-thousand viewers on the internet, was made possible by Ustream.TV, a video hosting company Brian described as, “YouTube for live video.”

For additional information, visit http://www.mariomarathon.com/

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The Mario Marathon is a charity event which raised money by broadcasting a a multi-day video gaming session.