Photos from Gamers for Giving 2015 have been posted to our Facebook page! See the full album by clicking here.

Unless otherwise labeled, photo credit belongs to the Gamers Outreach content team! Special thanks to Kevin Mills, David Saunders, Kaytlyn Saunders, Derick Todd, Michael Fossbakk, Scott Hespen, Justin Joye, Brian Johnson, Maher El-Awar, and Jon Bonus for collecting more than 15,000 photographs over the weekend!

Feel free to tag yourself or your friends in the pics! If you have more to share, let us know on Twitter of Facebook!

The results are in! Thanks to attendee entry fees, donations during the event, online donations, and the fundraising efforts of our stream team, the grand total raised during Gamers for Giving 2015 was a whopping $57,372.41! We more than doubled our original goal of $25K!

This is a new fundraising record for Gamers Outreach, and makes Gamers for Giving 2015 our most successful event to date! None of this would be possible if it wasn’t for the generous support of the gaming community. HUGE thanks to everyone who came out to this year’s event or tuned in online. THANK YOU for supporting the cause!

For those curious, here’s how the numbers broke down…

• Online registration & pre-event donations: $17,835.00
• Raffle, Peggle, & on site donations: $6,743.41
• Excess Sponsorship & Pledges: $7,000.00
• Donations received via the GFG website, GOF stream, & streamers: $25,794.00

Total = $57,372.41

Internally, our team has agreed, this has been the most incredible Gamers for Giving event we’ve had the pleasure of hosting. We can’t say it enough, THANK YOU to everyone who supported this year’s efforts! From our volunteers, who worked tirelessly all weekend to run the show, to our attendees, who (in some cases) traveled from across the country to attend, and to our special guests, for taking the time out of their schedules to support the cause. THANK YOU ALL!

As mentioned during this year’s event, Project GO Kart currently serves 26,000 children per year. By the end of 2015, our goal is to see the initiative serving more than 80,000 children per year in hospitals around the country. Gamers Outreach has come a long way over the years. What started as a bunch of high school students eager to host a video game tournament has evolved into an organization making an impact in thousands of people’s lives. The resources generated from Gamers for Giving will enable us to expand our efforts within children’s hospitals. Moving forward, this year, we’ll also be creating new opportunities for gamers and supporters to become involved with our efforts. Gamers Outreach is in the midst of constructing a new website that more thoroughly explains our efforts, and better illustrates where GO Karts are currently deployed. With this new site will come new tools for fundraising and advocacy. Through the new website, gamers will be empowered to construct GO Karts for hospitals of their choosing through a variety of methods including streaming and custom fundraising pages.

Of course, much of Gamers for Giving is made possible thanks to the generous support of our partners! Eastern Michigan University, Astro Gaming, LANFest, Gaming Generations, BenQ, DXRacer, GamerSaloon, and others have all made an effort to help us provide an incredible experience to our supporters through Gamers for Giving.  Their support helps us maximize the impact donations and attendee entry fees have on our initiatives. Please swing by our Partners page and show each of our contributors some love! They deserve it!

2015 is going to be a phenomenal year. We can’t wait to continue our efforts and make a positive impact in the lives of more children and families. Our deepest thanks go out to everyone who has been involved in making this year’s event possible.

If you’d like to keep up with the progress of our charity throughout the year, be sure to visit www.GamersOutreach.org! You can also find us on Facebook & Twitter, where we frequently post photos from our latest GO Kart deliveries and work with hospitals.

Also, for those who’ve asked, we are currently working to upload photos from this year’s event. Once we’ve finished sorting through the content, all photos will be uploaded to the Gamers Outreach Facebook page.

From everyone at Gamers Outreach, THANK YOU for supporting Gamers for Giving 2015! We hope to see you at next year’s event!

To everyone who participated in Gamers for Giving 2015, whether it was in person or online, THANK YOU! This past weekend’s event was absolutely incredible, and none of it would have been possible without the support of the community!

Our team of volunteers is in the midst of tidying a few things up. We finished tearing down the venue this afternoon, and we’ve just returned from packing our gear back into storage. We plan to announce the grand fundraising total tomorrow, and photos from the event will begin to surface throughout the week.

This was undoubtedly the most successful Gamers for Giving we’ve been privileged enough to host, and we’re so grateful for all the support we’ve received from everyone who’s been involved. Thank you all for making this the best Gamers for Giving yet! More to come in the coming days.

The big weekend has finally arrived! Join us at Gamers for Giving 2015!

We’re trying to raise $25,000 to help serve children in hospitals around the country through Project GO Kart. By the end of 2015, we hope to see the program serving more than 80,000 children per year.

If you’re able, please consider making a contribution on the home page of the site!

If you’re participating in the event, here are some final reminders for this weekend:

• Please bring a signed waiver with you to the event.
• Bring a photo ID and your payment receipt. This will help speed up check in.
• Vendor hours for food can be found here.
• If you’re participating in the LAN, be sure to bring all your gear! Here’s a check list.
• Console tournament peeps: be sure to check the Tournaments page for what you need.

Gamers for Giving will be streamed live at Twitch.tv/GamersOutreach.

Additionally, you can catch all the weekend’s Halo tournament action at Twitch.tv/Halo.

Follow along on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend. The official hashtag of the event is #GFG2015.

We’ll see you at Gamers for Giving!

The Gamers for Giving 2015 stream schedule has been posted! Catch all the action live on Twitch.tv as we kick off the year by trying to raise $25,000 in support of Project GO Kart! The stream will feature live commentary, gameplay, and interviews with special guests and personalities. During the stream, Gamers Outreach will be accepting donations to help reach the $25,000.00 fundraising goal!

Saturday, February 21st

• Gamers Outreach Stream: 11:30 AM Eastern to 10:00 PM Eastern – The Peggle World Championship
• Halo Stream: 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM – The Halo Championship Series

Sunday, February 22nd

• Gamers Outreach Stream: 10:00 AM Eastern to ??? – Mr. Monopoli: Halo 1, 2, and 3 Speedruns
• Halo Stream: 10:00 AM Eastern to 9:00 PM – The Halo Championship Series

Special Guest Streams

“MsVixen“

Founder of TeamVGaming, Ms Vixen is no stranger to getting involved with charity causes! As a frequent advocate for The National Breast Cancer Foundation, The American Red Cross, The Children’s Miracle Network, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, (takes a deep breath) Ms Vixen has already helped raise thousands of dollars for causes making an incredible impact! During Gamers for Giving, Ms Vixen will be turning her attention to Gamers for Giving, and will be streaming from her Twitch.tv channel to help us reach the $25,000 fundraising goal! If we’re fortunate enough to reach past the goal, our hope is to build a GO Kart for a hospital in Ms Vixen’s hometown! Check out her stream, and donate to the cause at http://www.twitch.tv/ms_vixen!

 “MissesMae“

Like many of us, MissesMae’s introduction to gaming started with Duck Hunt on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Fast forward to present day, the 27 year old registered nurse is now a full time streamer, who enjoys playing competitive Counter-Strike, as well as titles on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

As someone who’s spent a lot of time working within the hospital environment, MissesMae is entirely familiar with the need for recreation and therapy within children’s hospitals. During Gamers for Giving this weekend, you’ll be able to catch her streaming for Gamers Outreach!  If we’re fortunate enough to reach past the goal, our hope is to build a GO Kart for a hospital in her hometown. Check out her stream, and donate to the cause at http://www.twitch.tv/missesmae!

Kevin “Mr. Monopoli” Marnell

Joining us from Dallas, Texas – 22 year old Kevin “Mr. Monopoli” Marnell is a world record holder for Halo speed runs. He currently holds the world record for the completion of Halo 2 on both Easy and Legendary difficulties, and has held numerous world record times across all of the Halo shooters. Recently, his speed running accomplishments were immortalized by 343 Industries after the developer named an achievement after his accomplishments called “Monopolized.” The achievement can be unlocked by anyone who beats Halo 2 MCC in under three hours.

In his personal time, Kevin is in his final semester as a computer engineering student, and enjoys playing cello, sampling beers, and traveling.

Kevin will be joining us during Sunday’s stream in support of the cause! Those of you watching the broadcast will be able to watch in awe as he completes Halos 1 through 3 in a single day! Be sure to tune in on Sunday, at Twitch.tv/GamersOutreach!

Looking for a place to grab some food while you’re at Gamers for Giving? The Eastern Michigan University Student center will have a few vendors open for business during the event! In addition to the vendors within the student center, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can grab an Uber to explore downtown Ypsilanti, or even downtown Ann Arbor (15 minute drive)! Ann Arbor is home to a number of really great restaurants that are unique to the city. We’ve listed some of our favorites below!

Eastern Michigan Student Center Vendor Hours

Saturday

• Wendy’s – 11 AM to 10 PM
• Starbucks – 7:30 AM to 6 PM
• Lobby Shop – 8 AM to 9 PM
• Chase Bank – 9 AM to 2 PM

Sunday

• Wendy’s 11 AM to 5 PM
• Starbucks – 7:30 AM to 4 PM
• Lobby Shop – 8 AM to 9 PM

Ypsilanti Recommendations

• Sidetrack
• The Bomber (great for breakfast)
• Ichiban (hibachi / sushi)

Ann Arbor Recommendations

• Pizza House (Open until 4 AM every day. Order the cheesy bread. It’s awesome.)
• Black Pearl
• Aventura
• Zingerman’s
• Elevation Burger

BenQ monitors will once again be the preferred monitors of choice for players competing in our console tournaments!

The BenQ digital lifestyle brand stands for “Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to Life”, fusing lifestyle with technology, enjoyment with productivity, and aesthetic design with engineering. It is this mantra that has made BenQ the No. 1-selling DLP® projector brand worldwide, as well as the No. 1 name in short-throw projectors. BenQ America Corp. offers an extensive line of visual display and presentation solutions that incorporate the very latest technologies. The company delivers a broad range of projectors, flat panel displays, and monitors for any application and market — education, home, gaming, enterprise, government, house of worship, digital signage, AV and IT — with cutting-edge models that lead the industry in performance, reliability, environmental sustainability, and aesthetics. Whether it’s interactive digital whiteboards for classrooms, full HD 3D projectors for home theaters, short-throw projectors for boardrooms, interactive flat panel displays for digital signage, or LED backlight monitors for professional gaming, BenQ continues to defy the limits of digital displays. The company’s products are available across North America through leading value-added distributors, resellers, and retailers.

Gamers for Giving attendees participating in our console tournaments will have the opportunity to compete on BenQ monitors thanks to the company’s support of Gamers Outreach! We’re proud to welcome BenQ back to Gamers for Giving for their second year as a supporter!

For 20 years, PC enthusiasts have relied on Corsair to push the boundaries of performance hardware. Corsair Gaming is a new division within Corsair, dedicated to gamers and precision forged products that elevate the PC gaming experience.

Corsair has a reputation for creating some of the most high quality components and peripherals that exist for PC Gamers. Now, with a new division entirely dedicated to mice, keyboards, headsets, and mouse mats, the company is expanding its reputation as an arms dealer for PC gamers around the world.

We’re proud to welcome Corsair Gaming as a new supporter of Gamers Outreach! This is the first year they’ve supported Gamers for Giving, and attendees will have the chance to win Corsair Gaming products throughout the weekend!

Be sure to show them some love on Facebook & Twitter!

For those of you who are participating in the BYOC as a PC gamer, we are adding a few classics to the list of games that will be available to play on LAN!

Here’s the full list of LAN servers we’ll be hosting at Gamers for Giving (aside from any headline tournament servers):

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Casual Server)
• Counter-Strike Source
• Counter-Strike 1.6
• Garry’s MOD
• Half Life 2 Deathmatch
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
• Left 4 Dead
• Left 4 Dead 2
• F.E.A.R.
• Minecraft Server

A full run down of games available to play, as well as the activities for the weekend can be found on the LAN party page of the website.

We’ll see you this weekend!

Joining us this year for their first Gamers for Giving event are the folks from GamerSaloon.com! The company, which specializes in online gaming competitions, will be setting up a booth at Gamers for Giving. Attendees will have the opportunity to compete for prizes while trying out the company’s newest tournament software.

In case you’re not familiar, GamerSaloon.com is the premier destination to compete in skill-based video games for real cash prizes. The industry pioneer in 2006, GamerSaloon.com has grown to become one of the largest gaming communities on the planet and has awarded more than $24 million in prizes! With 750,000+ members and counting, there are gamers ready to play any time, any day.

GamerSaloon.com offers skill-based competitions for every major gaming console and PC, and includes titles such as Madden, NBA2K, FIFA, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Super Smash Brothers, and many more. Plus, the GamerSaloon.com arcade enables you play real money games such as Pool directly in your browser.

Be sure to visit the GamerSaloon booth during Gamers for Giving, and give them some love on Twitter!