Meatball. That’s the name given to a stuffed Koala bear that soldiered through my husband’s surgery with him nearly 23 years ago. An anesthesiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital gave it to him during his stay and at some point, Mike says, he dropped a meatball on the bear – thus the name.
As Mike explains his medical history, he was born with a few holes in his heart. At eight, it was time to operate. The holes were patched and he left with a scar to tell the story. Mike has many memories of the folks at Boston Children's Hospital and the exceptional care provided. As a member of the Children’s Miracle Network, Boston Children’s Hospital works to ensure every child is healthy, happy, and receives care. That’s a mission FableVision can get behind.
On Nov. 2, 2013, for 25 hours straight, a team of FableVisionaries will be playing games. No, seriously, we will be staying up past our bedtime and playing videogames, board games, maybe even a few rounds of charades for the nationwide Extra Life Fundraiser.
Extra Life started in 2008 as a way to support Victoria Enmon who was battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Sarcastic Gamer, a community of local gamers, sent her video games to keep her spirits up.
Victoria lost her battle to cancer in 2008, and the community launched Extra Life – a 24-hour gaming marathon to raise money for the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. The following year, the fundraising effort expanded to allow gamers across the country to fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. All of the funds raised go directly to the hospital. For FableVision that’s the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Beyond personal connections to Boston Children’s, FableVision has worked directly with Boston Children’s Hospital before in the development of Generation Cures. Working with Children's Hospital Trust, FableVision developed a ground-breaking approach to motivate tweens to care about and help other children through entertainment, story, and gaming. The transmedia property includes Zebrafish (a series of animated webisodes and two graphic novels) and Caduceus: Staff of the Alchemist (an online game, mobile app, and Facebook game versions).
We’re still assembling the full FableVision Extra Life Team and encourage support for any of the members. Help us in our fundraising effort for Boston Children’s Hospital. And bookmark our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages – because you know we’ll be documenting our 25-hour gaming adventure.
