Colorado Springs Gamers Fundraise for Children’s Hospital Colorado at KoboldCon
If you’re ever needing an entertaining and efficient tutorial on how to play Dungeons and Dragons, or if you’d like to strut your best Cosplay outfit in a parade, or if you like to play games for a good cause: KoboldCon is for you.
From Friday, April 26th to Sunday, April 28th, the Colorado Springs Chapel Hills Mall was the site for hundreds of tabletop game lovers. The 2019 KoboldCon was organized, staffed, promoted, and hosted by members of several different local organizations. It was the talk of the Southern Colorado gaming community as it brought together game tournaments, a variety of vendors, live and silent auctions, and special guests including world-renowned game designer and developer Robert J. Schwalb, Beth Damis, CFO of Penny Arcade, and Janeal “Key” Ironsides, Sword Fighting World Champion and international athlete. With such big names and impressive attendance, it’s hard to believe this was only the third year of the convention’s existence.
What made this so special for Children’s Hospital Colorado? A few things. The organizers of KoboldCon heard about Extra Life – the gaming program that raises money and awareness for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country – and reached out for a connection. After lots of communication, Denver Extra Life became the main charity beneficiary for the event, with all money raised going straight to Children’s Hospital Colorado. KoboldCon created Denver Extra Life branded poker chips for attendees to attain for a donation as a benefit to their game play. They also set a silent auction table with some valuable original items, including first edition pieces from the ever-popular Dungeons and Dragons game. All proceeds from the silent auction were donated to Denver Extra Life.
“It was an epic con that showed how big of hearts gamers really have” says Jamie Sherman, President of the Denver Extra Life Guild. “KoboldCon is all about people playing for fun and leaving their competitive side at the door.”
The other special connection for Children’s Colorado was the uncanny timing and location of the event. The same day KoboldCon started, hospital and foundation staff from across the state were setting up for the Grand Opening event for the new Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs facility, which will open to patients in May and serve the 240,000 kids across Southern Colorado. Also during that same time frame, the Children’s Colorado Board of Trustees Retreat was taking place at the Colorado Springs Garden of the Gods hotel to discuss regional growth and southern Colorado focus. Fate at its finest, we’d like to think.
Although KoboldCon opened to the attendees on Friday, the organizers partnered with AMC’s Movie Camp on Thursday evening to plug the importance of both KoboldCon and Extra Life during the Avengers: Endgame pre-show. Avengers fans loved the energy, purpose, and concept behind the convention and fundraising program.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday hosted many hours of tabletop gaming, endless opportunities to purchase items from vendors, a belly dancing show (yes, you read that correctly.), and ultimately, the successful outcome of so much blood, sweat, and tears from organizers and sponsors alike. By the time the doors closed on Sunday afternoon, Denver Extra Life had raised over $1,200 for Children’s Hospital Colorado. “The fact that we cleared $1000 – $1 at a time – really demonstrates the power of gaming, and gamers as fundraisers” says Rick Spies, Vice President of the Denver Extra Life Guild. “The enthusiasm for Extra Life and Children’s Colorado was infectious, and everyone who participated in the con knew about us because they were hearing about us from the moment they walked in the front door.”
Interested in joining the Extra Life movement? Check out https://www.extra-life.org. To learn more about KoboldCon, visit: http://www.koboldcon.com