Child's Play is a nonprofit group that gives toys and games to children's hospitals around the world. It was started in 2003 by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, who are the creators of the well-known webcomic Penny Arcade. The charity aims to show that gamers are not violent or antisocial, as some people in the media believe. By 2025, Child's Play had received more than $67 million in donations since it was founded.

Logistics

Child's Play, with the help of hospital staff, creates gift wishlists on Amazon.com filled with video games, books, toys, and movies. These wishlists allow items to be sent directly to hospitals as donations. Instead of buying items from the wishlists, people can donate money through PayPal or by sending a check. This money is used each year to buy technology, such as iPads and Xbox systems, along with games and movies.

The charity also has a section for companies that have donated money. These companies receive different sponsorship levels (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) and are listed on Childsplaycharity.org. Examples of sponsors include video game events like the Mario Marathon and Desert Bus for Hope, as well as YouTube series such as Far Lands or Bust by Kurtjmac.

History

Child's Play was announced on November 24, 2003, by the creators of Penny Arcade as a challenge to their audience and a response to the negative way video gamers were often shown in the media, including a HeraldNet article by Bill France titled "Violent video games are training children to kill." (France later apologized in the same article, praising the effort.) The charity received positive coverage on many popular websites, including Slashdot, and received direct support from Wil Wheaton. Within one month of starting, the charity raised more than $250,000 in cash and toys for the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

In 2004, the charity expanded its work and partnered with children's hospitals in Seattle; Oakland, California; San Diego, California; Houston, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

By January 5, 2005, the charity had raised over $310,000, which was $60,000 more than the previous year, and gained forty corporate sponsors, including Nintendo, Midway Games, Cerulean Studios, and THQ.

In 2005, the charity expanded further to partner with seven additional children's hospitals in the United States, as well as hospitals in Toronto and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It also partnered with Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, England. At the time it stopped accepting donations, the community had raised $605,000. An auction was held to appear in a Penny Arcade comic strip at the 2005 Child's Play Charity Dinner. The winning bid of $20,000 was made by Christian Boggs. Mr. Boggs also won an original pencil sketch of the PAX 2005 program cover on eBay. All money from the auction went to the American Red Cross.

In 2006, the charity expanded again, adding four hospitals in the United States, two in Australia, and one in Egypt. On December 13, 2006, a charity dinner and auction took place. Items available for bidding included a gaming day at the Penny Arcade office, an appearance in a Penny Arcade comic strip, a tour of Bungie and a recording session for the voice of a character in Halo 3, and a two-year subscription to World of Warcraft and the Burning Crusade special edition signed by all the developers. The year 2006 was the first time the charity reached the $1 million fundraising goal.

In 2007, the charity added a hospital each in Hawaii and New Zealand.

During the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo, Harmonix announced that three songs from the event would be made available for download in the Rock Band video game. All money from the sale of these songs would go to the charity.

On November 13, 2009, Mike Krahulik announced that the Child's Play 2009 total had already reached $455,863.80 after one week.

In 2010, Epic Games held a vote-by-purchase event between July 29 and September 6 to decide the fate of a character, Clayton Carmine, in their game Gears of War 3. Gamers voted by buying Xbox avatar T-shirts through Xbox Live or real-life T-shirts at San Diego Comic-Con, with all purchases counting toward the vote. The campaign raised over $150,000, which was donated to Child's Play.

In 2011, Mike Krahulik announced the first annual Child's Play Invitational Golf Tournament, held at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, California, on June 5, 2011. All money from the event went to partner hospitals and facilities in the Child's Play network. The tournament was later held at Angeles National Golf Course in Sunland, California, on June 8, 2012, and at Inglewood Golf Club in Kenmore, Washington, on May 20, 2013.

In November 2013, Program Coordinator Jamie Dillion announced the first expansion of Child's Play to benefit children in domestic violence facilities. The program was introduced as a pilot and planned to open for applications in Spring 2014. The shelter program would provide a pre-built game cart with a game system, television, and games to serve emergency shelters, long-term shelters, advocacy centers, and more.

In 2016, the charity raised over $160,000 at their Annual Dinner Auction and provided nearly 30 grants to libraries, shelters, schools, trauma centers, transitional housing, day programs, and other organizations to help them buy games and systems. The charity also supplied VR setups to hospitals for therapy and distraction, as well as iPads to special education classrooms and inpatient psychiatric units.