A press release from my buddy Matthew Tucker, executive producer of the awesome Geeks With Issues show:
Child's Play and Hillcrest Education Centers are working tirelessly to bring some holiday cheer to children in need this season, and the Geeks With Issues crew is reviving a classic edutainment game to lend them a hand.
On December 20th, the cast and crew of the Pittsfield Community Television program will play the vintage MECC game Oregon Trail for 24 continuous hours to help raise money for the two charitable organizations. The "Geeks" will webcast every second of the action on the event's website, www.GeeksWithIssues.com/Charity.
This webcast will include the discussions, special guests and antics characteristic of the Geeks With Issues program. They're calling the event "The Battle Against Dysentery!", a tongue-in-cheek name based on a malady commonly suffered by characters in the Oregon Trail game.
Child’s Play is a charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video game-based webcomic Penny Arcade that organizes worldwide toy drives to children's hospitals. Since 2003, the charity has sent more than $3 million in toys, games and books to children's hospitals all over the world.
Hillcrest Educational Centers is a interdisciplinary educational center for children in need of integrated therapeutic, educational and residential programming. Hillcrest's goal is to facilitate the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth of their students so that they will be able to benefit from, and do well in, less restrictive settings and eventually return to the community.
"We took great care in selecting the charities for this event," said Matthew "Tuck" Tucker, the executive producer of Geeks With Issues. "We wanted to make 'The Battle Against Dysentery' both a local and a global sort of event, since the spirit of Geeks With Issues is both global and local. Choosing Child’s Play and Hillcrest Educational Centers allowed us to play off of those two differing but complementary aspects of our show."
Added show director Chris Chamberland: "It’s always exciting to put on a live performance. In this case, we’ll be taking it a step further by not just cablecasting on PCTV, but putting on a show for a full 24 hours on our webcast, as well. That will add to the challenge, and hopefully the fun."
Tucker explained the idea behind the marathon play of Oregon Trail:"These groups work every day to improve the lives of so many children. The least we can do is endure 24 hours of digital broken legs, bad water, and of course, dysentery, for the same cause."
Learn more about The Battle Against Dysentery at www.GeeksWithIssues.com/Charity, and provide a generous donation if you can.
--J.C.