As Christmas steadily approaches and millions of gamers hope for stockings full of new games and new consoles, we should take a minute to remember what the holiday season is all about. No, I'm not talking about why gamers should put down their pads to spend time with family on Christmas Day � I'm talking about the spirit of giving, and what Child's Play charity is all about.

The charity

A bit of background about Child's Play: the charitable organization was established in 2003 by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins at Penny Arcade. As they explained: "We set it up because we were angry the media decided to blame all the world's problems on games and gamers. Basically they said that gamers were bad people, and we thought that wasn't right. Apparently, you guys agreed: through Child's Play you sent over a million dollars in toys, games, and cash to the sick kids in children's hospitals around the world." Over the last few years, Child's Play has raised nearly $1.2 million in video games, consoles, toys, books, movies and donations.

How it works

There is probably nothing worse for a kid than to be stuck in a children's ward over the holiday season. That's where Child's Play comes in. The concept is brilliant and straightforward. Through Child's Play, 28 participating hospitals across the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK have set up Amazon.com wish lists of video games, and games systems, toys and movies. You check out the wish lists, and purchase and donate an item that will be sent directly to the hospital. There are no administrative fees � everything is passed on. Some of the toys and games will be given to the kids to keep, while larger gifts � like consoles � will be kept in the hospital for future patients. Alternatively, you can make a direct donation through PayPal.

How you can help

When you are Christmas shopping, spare a moment and check out the wish list for your nearest hospital from the Child's Play interactive map � the wish lists contain video games and toys that the hospital needs. Please help out and donate this Christmas.

As you can see from the maps of hospitals at Child's Play, at the moment Britain and Europe are represented by Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. Through the N-Europe readership, hopefully we can get the word out to other children's hospitals across the UK and the continent. Child's Play is developing a worldwide network of beneficiary children's hospitals. From the About page: "The ideal new hospital is far from other hospitals since we'd like to get even coverage, and not duplicate effort. If you want your local hospital to get involved then contact it, evangelize Child's Play, and ask someone in charge of fundraising or donations to email Kristin Lindsay at [email protected]." So, if you have the time, please consider approaching your local children's hospital and ask them to join up.

And for those of you with your own blogs and websites, please take the time to put up the Child's Play banners and flyers that can be found on the website here.

'Tis the Season

This Christmas, gamers can unite and donate to a charity that makes a difference; one that reflects well on the gaming community. So check out http://www.childsplaycharity.org and start giving!

Nick Bennett
[email protected]