Here at Game to Grow, we have a really important opportunity to start new therapeutic social group programs at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Texas Children’s Hospital and we need your help.

For the last year, Game to Grow has been teleconferencing into Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, bringing therapeutic games of Critical Core to hospitalized youth. Critical Core is a simple, easy-to-play role-playing game similar to Dungeons and Dragons that is accessible to kids wherever they are in their health journey.

Depending on the day, 1 to 6 hospitalized youth join from their hospital beds. Sometimes they are receiving treatments during the game. Sometimes they are hooked to IVs, sometimes oxygen masks. Some are laying down flat in their bed. They can still play with other kids who are in similar situations.

The feedback from the San Antonio pilot has been tremendous. Kids and their parents have shared how important these sessions have been:

“A highlight I’ll take away is when I realized that no matter how tough things may get, a smile, a true, genuine smile, can lift your spirits.”

“I really like the idea of seeing other kids in their situation. It makes me feel less alone.”

“Thank you so much - my son has been smiling and happy since 1/2 way through the game...The games helped take his mind off being here. Please continue - I was amazed how well it worked.”

Here’s where you come in:

In order to launch programs at Seattle Children’s and Texas Children’s Hospital this summer, we need to raise $20,000.

While this program is similar to our flagship RPG program at Game to Grow, it requires increased staffing and training in a particular set of skills unique to the hospital setting. Each group has two staff members running the game instead of just one. One is the facilitator and game master while the other serves as an assistant or “model student” to reduce performance pressure on kids who may not have much energy to give to the group. The programs we’ve built so far have been led by Adam Davis and Adam Johns, Game to Grow’s founders and Executive Directors. As we expand this program, we need additional Game to Grow staff, trained in working with hospitalized youth, to take on groups at the new hospitals.

We truly believe the model has the power to help youth who are in the hospital awaiting organ transplants, in long-term care receiving treatments - kids who may be isolated, lonely, and bored. We also have plans to run sibling games, so that kids stuck in the hospital can still connect, laugh, and play with their family at home.

To make this possible, can you make a special one time donation to Game to Grow, so that we can bring two new hospitals on and dramatically scale up the reach of this program?

We want more children to be able to laugh, socialize, and join other children in imaginative play. Thank you for considering joining us in that effort!

Game to Grow is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the use of games for therapeutic, educational, and community growth. Game to Grow’s weekly therapeutic social skills groups help over 100 participants each week around the world become more confident, creative, and socially capable using games of all kinds, most notably Dungeons and Dragons, Minecraft, and Magic: The Gathering. Through its comprehensive training program, Game to Grow trains mental health professionals, educators, and community advocates around the world to use innovative game-based strategies to enrich their own communities.

Expand Game to Grow's Reach to Hospitalized Youth!

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