Game on for 2nd annual St. Jude PLAY LIVE, chances to win great prizes in May
Top video game broadcasters lead St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® charity program with support from GameStop and Twitch
MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Top video game broadcasters are pressing play to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The second annual St. Jude PLAY LIVE video game charity program that encourages participants to power-up their gaming systems for kids fighting for their lives, kicked off this month with Domino's Pizza employees at its headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, streaming a 48-hour video game marathon for the kids of St. Jude. More than 3,000 unique viewers tuned in to watch the Domino's Twitch channel: http://www.twitch.tv/DominosGames.
The rules for this charity event are simple: gamers sign up at playlive.stjude.org, set a fundraising goal, share the program with friends and family, and see how much they can raise while playing their favorite games. Those participants throughout May also have a chance to win some great prizes. More importantly, netting mushrooms as they race down the track in Mario Kart won't just gain you a boost in the game, it will help ensure that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Professional video game broadcasters Panser, MANvsGAME, ZombiUnicorn, Ellohime and others recently visited St. Jude to spend time with the patients, learn how their support helps families and launch St. Jude PLAY LIVE. Patients challenged professional gamers to matches, decorated cookies and spent quality time giving patients an opportunity to just be a kid – despite what they are going through.
"St. Jude PLAY LIVE gives individuals a unique opportunity to combine their love for video games while making a difference in the lives of some of the world's sickest children," said Richard Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "The support of the video game community for St. Jude is truly remarkable and helps further our mission of finding cures and saving children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases."
The program also will provide a chance for students to lend their video game skills to earn service hours while supporting the kids of St. Jude. With millennials in the tech industry booming around the country, college campuses are invited to join the action. Student players can earn 10 service hours per $100 raised through St. Jude PLAY LIVE, and every dollar raised helps more kids fighting for a chance at life.
Since inception, GameStop's partnership has afforded participants with high-level prizes for supporting St. Jude PLAY LIVE. This year's grand prize package is an all-expense paid trip for two to the highly anticipated 2015 GameStop Expo, Sept. 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada. GameStop is providing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gaming systems each weekend of the charity event, trip to GameStop Expo for the highest fundraiser as well as GameStop gift cards. Additionally, GameStop is matching up to $30,000 in donations raised for the hospital.
"We're excited to partner with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for its second annual St. Jude PLAY LIVE event and raise funds for the brave children fighting life-threatening illnesses," stated Matt Hodges, vice president of public and investor relations, GameStop. "GameStop is committed to giving back in the communities where we work, live and play and St. Jude PLAY LIVE gives us the opportunity to support the efforts of St. Jude in reaching a day when no child dies from cancer."
Twitch, a supporter of St. Jude PLAY LIVE, is the site which hosts more than 100 million unique viewers and 1.5 million unique broadcasters monthly around the world. Twitch is designed to be a platform for video game-related content, including e-sports tournaments, personal streams of individual players, and gaming-related talk shows. Participants also can earn prize rewards from DXRacer, Origin PC, Razer and Steel Series.
Registration for St. Jude PLAY LIVE is open now at playlive.stjude.org.
About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs we make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org or following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150505/214004
SOURCE ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
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