Child's Play (charity)

Child's Play is a charitable organization that donates toys and games to children's hospitals worldwide. It was founded in 2003 by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, authors of the popular video games-related webcomic Penny Arcade. The charity is seen as a way to refute mainstream media's perception of gamers as violent and antisocial. As of 2017, Child's Play had processed $40,292,852 in donations since its inception.

With the help of hospital staff, Child's Play sets up gift wishlists on Amazon.com, full of video games, books, toys, and movies. These wishlists send items directly to the facilities as in-kind donations. Instead of buying items off the wishlists users can donate money through PayPal or check. This money is used to make annual wholesale purchases to provide technology like iPads and Xbox 360 systems as well as games and movies.

The charity also has a space for corporate sponsors who have donated. The sponsors also earn a corporate sponsorship level (Silver, Gold and Platinum) and get linked back on Childsplaycharity.org. These sponsors include several video game marathons such as the Mario Marathon and Desert Bus for Hope, as well as YouTube series such as Far Lands or Bust by Kurtjmac.

Child's Play was announced on November 24, 2003 by the authors of Penny Arcade as a challenge to their readership, and as a response to the often negative portrayal of video gamers in the media, most notably a HeraldNet article by Bill France entitled "Violent video games are training children to kill." (France later made an apology in the same column, praising the effort.) It received positive press on many popular weblogs, including Slashdot and received direct endorsement from Wil Wheaton. In less than one month of publicity and operation, the charity raised over $250,000 in cash and toys for the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

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