The word “community” can have many different meanings de- pending on whom you talk to. For some, it’s just a word for the people who live on the same street, or in the same neighborhood or city. In Kitchener-Waterloo, however, community is often more—it’s people working together to improve the area and the lives of those in it.
On July 31, community support takes the form of a unique fundraising event called GameRescue, benefitting HopeSpring Cancer Support Centre. HopeSpring provides numerous support programs and services to people affected by cancer. In the early morning hours of July 10, HopeSpring’s building was broken into. The thief made off with a number of items, including video game equipment used for HopeSpring’s Supportive Oncology Activi- ties in Recreation (S.O.A.R.) program for kids age 3 to 12.
The unfortunate news of a thief stealing video game equip- ment meant to benefit children affected by cancer was so shock- ing that a “supergroup” of self-described nerds, including Head- shots From the Heart’s Matthew Trushinkski and Jim Tigwell, Nerd Nite KW’s Charlotte Armstrong and Eric Moon, KW Polar Plunge’s Greg Lehman, and local artist and blogger Ryan Consell, quickly rallied to the cause and organized GameRescue to replace HopeSpring’s lost items.
GameRescue Board Game Night took place on July 31 at the Rum Runner Pub in downtown Kitchener. A celebration of board and card games in their myriad forms, participants played a wide selection of games with friends and strangers alike. Classic fam- ily games such as Monopoly, Yahtzee, and Scrabble were played, along with a host of others widely popular in the gaming com- munity, such as Settlers of Catan, Munchkin, Battlestar Galactica, and the retro VHS board game Nightmare.
Additionally, participants brought video and board games to donate towards the cause. KW Vintage Games, a local video game store, was present during the event to take the items and make donations to HopeSpring for the value of the donated games.
Monetary donations can be accepted any time by visiting the HopeSpring website hopespring.ca/getinvolved/donate.
The Game Rescue team hopes that this will be the first of many future unique fundraisers that will benefit other local charities.
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For more information, updates, and future events, give them a follow on Twitter:
• @GameRescue4HS
• @HeadshotsHeart, @ConceptCrucible (Jim Tigwell), @Matty_Tru (Matthew Trushinski)
• @NerdNiteKW, @scifichar (Charlotte Armstrong), @moon_unit_eric (Eric Moon)
• @KWPolar, @SpikeGreg (Greg Lehman)
• @StudentofWhim (Ryan Consell)
• and the hashtag #GameRescue4HS
