Imagine being massively into videogames but, due a disability which is completely out of your control, you aren’t able to play. Your friends are all talking about how far they’ve got on the latest releases, but all you can do is watch everybody else play and wish that you were able to experience all the pleasures of gaming for yourself. It’d be awful, right?
The wonderful people at Special Effect are well aware of how depressing such a situation might be, and are on a mission to help as many people as possible to enjoy videogames, leisure technology and communication, no matter what their disability might be. To do this, Special Effect visit their customers at home and work out what they want to play and what they need to play it, then modify or create the equipment needed for those customers to begin their gaming adventures.
Check out this video to see some of Special Effect’s creations in action:
What’s Gameblast all about? Special Effect are asking people to organise and run their own gaming fundraiser (timed marathon, pub quiz, fancy dress day at work, whatever you like!) during the weekend of February 22-24, with the aim of reaching (and hopefully surpassing) this year’s Gameblast target of £150,000. Supporters can take part as an individual, a group of friends, or even as an organisation, and with the likes of Game, Twitch and Insert Coin all helping to spread the word this year, hopes are high for a fantastic weekend of gaming.
All of the money raised during Gameblast’s various events will enable Special Effect to visit more customers and come up with the right equipment for each client. This support is absolutely vital to the charity, as Special Effect doesn’t charge for their services – it’s all done out of the goodness of their own hearts. Approximately 90% of all money raised during Gameblast is spent directly on frontline work with customers and their families, with the remaining 10% being used to simply keep the charity runnning.
So wherever you are in the world, if you feel like turning your usual weekend of gaming into a contribution towards a fantastic cause, please head on over to the Gameblast 2019 website to register your interest:
https://www.gameblast19.org.uk/
Alternatively, if setting up your own event seems like it might be a bit too time-consuming, feel free to hit the link below to support the STARBURST gaming team as they take part in a non-stop 24-hour gaming marathon!