Gaming for Charity: Child’s Play
As a gaming fan (yes, Jeff, you got me, I’ll admit it. I can hear him gloating), I often read the Penny Arcade blog and comic. Their sense of humor and great reviews made me a fan a very long time ago. I love their characters, Gabe and Tycho, I admit it. I don’t always know how their wives put up with them, but perhaps it has something to do with the fact that at heart, they’re just really great guys.
Penny Arcade has expanded its reach over time, morphing from just the little ol’ blog to encompass an annual gamer’s convention called PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) and of course an annual toy drive for children.
Their toy drive for kids, the Child’s Play Charity, has raised an enormous amount of money for the cause since they began in 2003. They collect toys and donations - this year’s goal is $750,000. Then they donate the books, games, toys and cash to children in hospitals across the country. They currently partner with 45 hospitals in order to distribute the bounty.
It’s a great cause, and one that I know has benefited many over the years.
Alaska
Hard to believe, dear readers, but NaBloPoMo(Fo) is almost done. Five more posts, including this one, and that’s one every single day in November. I received a notice this morning from one of the organizers about the end and how there will be winners … winners?! Do I get points for posting while on a week-long trip to Alaska?!
Speaking of, I have been in Alaska since last Thursday doing one thing or another. I thought that for today’s post I’d share some of the stuff I’ve been seeing. There is a lot as far as beautiful scenery goes here. It is fairly cold scenery. Arriving here from Texas is like being stuck suddenly in a freezer. Of course, the Alaskans think they’ve been having balmy days lately, so I’m a big dork in my coat, scarf and hat and they’re walking around in shorts and a t-shirt …
So here’s some really pretty pictures of some really pretty scenery in the great north. Enjoy!
Standing in Earthquake Park looking across the salty mudflats (muddy saltflats?) and the Cook Inlet to Anchorage with the Chugach Mountain Range in the background.
That’s the Hatcher Range of the Talkeetna Mountains (Hatcher Pass) in the background across the Cook inlet.
Jeff in the Chugach State Forest on a snowy ridge overlooking Anchorage.
A view east down the Matanuska River in the Matanuska Valley. It’s a wide glacier valley and most of the river is frozen over right now.
Looking across the taiga - the Copper River Valley - at the Wrangell St. Elias Mountain Range. That’s Mt. Drum (12,010 ft) on the left and Mt. Wrangell (14,163 ft - top hiding in the clouds) on the right. The road is Highway 1 to Glennallen.
The sun begins to set over the Cook inlet. We were traveling along the Seward highway which runs along the inlet going south to the ocean. This looks across to the end of the Turnagain Arm. This is probably the most beautiful drive I’ve seen. The mountains come up straight from the water.
Crafting for Holiday Charity: Toys for Tots and Bernina
Now that it’s after Thanksgiving, for the end of November and all through December I’m going to be posting extra charity information, because for me, this time of the year is about giving. I love giving gifts, and I love the giving spirit of the holiday season.
Starting off this 2007 Holiday Season is Toys for Tots - crafting style! The folks at Bernina have decided to participate by accepting toys at sewing machine dealers nationwide. Go to their website to download a PDF of all the participating locations.
Bernina will also donate $50 of every purchase of an Artista model to Toys for Tots from November 1 through January 2, 2008.
Alternatively, the Toys for Tots program is accepting donations on their website also - as a fundraiser at a nonprofit, I know how much they’d appreciate this too!
I ran across this at the Quilting and Patchwork blog.
