Child's Play 2008
To quote the Child's Play website, "Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child's Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry." Created by the creators of the famous gaming comic Penny Arcade in 2003 and supported by the heart and spirit of the gaming community, this charity has donated over $3,000,000 to date to children's hospitals around the world.
This year alone, $1,135,000 was donated in the form of cash and new toys and games to more than 40 hospitals, and the generosity doesn't need to stop. If you're interested in donating, you can go to www.childsplaycharity.org, pick a hospital on the big map, and click on its controller icon - each hospital has set up an Amazon wish-list, and all you need to do is pick a toy to buy for a kid stuck in bed, and follow the instructions.
And I'm a bit late on these, but you can keep them in mind for next year. Child's Play also puts on a few other events during each fundraising period (the Christmas holidays) - this year, they had an awesome auction/dinner: Items donated and auctioned included a collection of "literally every piece of Halo 3 merchandise ever created", Recon Armor for Halo 3, and tours of the Valve Software offices.
There's also going to be a Rockband Battle of the Bands tomorrow in Seattle to give an extra little boost - if you find yourself in the area, it's only $5 to see some amazing Rockbanders. I strongly urge you to become a part of this amazing community and contribute to this beautiful effort.
