Ohio University’s Extra Life organization is a charity organization raising money for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.
Zachary Klink, a senior studying history and president of Extra Life, said being in the club has changed how he views playing video games.
“(It's) not just some little hobby that you know some people do in their free time,” Klink said. “It can actually be used as a very powerful image to promote good and help other people in the process.”
Extra Life raises money forthe hospital. Caleb McCoy, a sophomore studying computer science and treasurer of Extra Life, said the organization, on average, raises around $1,000 per semester through its 24-hour gaming livestream.
For the Fall 2024 semester, the 24-hour livestream will take place Nov. 16 and 17. Students can find the live stream on Twitch.
Thomas Clevenger, a sophomore studying psychology and secretary of Extra Life, said putting together the live stream requires planning donation goals and the games that will be played.
“We have a whole list of video games that we think people would be interested in playing and watching on stream,” Clevenger said. “We also have stretch goals and initiative goals.”
Initiative goals are for when people donate a certain amount of money, the organization members do something such as getting sprayed with water. Stretch goals are bigger ambitions, such as making $1,100 in donations. The members will complete challenges when reaching stretch goals, such as playing a game with oven mitts on. This year, the club is streaming games such as Mario Kart, Mario Party, JackBox and the uber-popular Dress to Impress.
Extra Life received a grant from OU to promote and get more materials for the 24-hour livestream this semester.
“It was an opportunity for us to get funding where we usually couldn’t,” Klink said.
Klink said the process of getting this funding was filling out a simple application on Bobcat Connect. The application’s grant amount was up to $5,000.
“We got a very big opportunity to be able to get a lot of promotional material,” Klink said. “All of these amazing things for the club to be able to live past me and the remaining members of the club that were first around when the club was first made.”
Another shining moment for the organization was being noticed by the director at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The director collaborated with Extra Life and had merchandise made so the organization could promote its goal.
Clevenger said being in the organization has been a great experience.
“We work for a very good cause,” Clevenger said. “It’s very fulfilling, and honestly, it’s an overall positive experience.”
Klink said the club has undergone very positive changes since he joined around three years ago.
“It’s evolved from a tiny club with 15 members of people who were just friends, who wanted to play video games and also raise money for a good cause,” Klink said.
Klink said now the club is a fairly good size with many freshmen who are passionate about the organization's ultimate idea: gaming for a cause.
