November is the time of year when my friends in the country below mine celebrate Thanksgiving—it’s a time for them to reflect on good times, family, and what’s important in their lives. Of course, that means it’s also time for “Black Friday.” November is also the month when countless new game releases keep people glued to their videogame consoles.

Everyone knows how thankful I am for the people in my life, whether it’s my staff here at TBS who bust their asses for me each month, or KilaMOMjaro and the rest of the staff over at Gaming4others (G40) or the various communities I visit when I have time. I also need to mention the love and kinship I have with my team at KRA, but this month I want to talk about how thankful we all should be to have an amazing couple in our gaming community.

Last year I met Doc, from Sarcastic Gamer (SG), via emails regarding his website. It was kind of funny how we met. One of my “new P.R.” people wasn’t following directions on how to post on a gaming website and didn’t ask if it would be all right to promote TBS. Of course when the post went up the SG guys treated it, rightfully, as spam. Though we hadn’t personally interacted, Doc knew who I was because of my affiliations with his friends through the Gamercast Network, and he clued me in on my “spamtastic P.R.” Through our talks, he also introduced me to a spirited young girl named Tori, who had touched his heart in her battle with cancer. When he asked for help to get her games for Christmas, ”No” was not a response I would even consider. In lieu of releasing an edition of TBS in January 2008, we did a dedication for Tori, as she had also touched our hearts here at TBS, even though we had never met her.

Over this past year, Doc and I have spoken on an increasingly frequent basis; he’s always there to help support G40 and TBS. In August, at PAX, I was blessed to meet him and his amazing wife Lesley. There wasn’t enough time at PAX to really sit down and talk; however, when we got back Doc was in touch immediately to tell me about an event he was planning. I was blown away at the thought and the work that went into this charity event—Extra Life—that Doc and Lesley had created to remember Tori.

Included below is the mission statement Doc wrote to explain the origins and purposes of this extraordinary charity:

I lost a very precious part of my life this year; she was a young lady from Orange, Texas, who had her heart set on being a cheerleader. In January, Tori lost her third bout with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or cancer of the blood. She beat it twice, enduring things you likely can’t imagine. On the third time around, even when things weren’t looking so good, Tori kept everyone around her in positive spirits.

On the drive home from Tori’s funeral, I thought about courage and the human spirit. I thought about how many times this scenario had played out in hospitals all over the world, and I thought about how many kids, like Tori, were still fighting cancer.

I decided that as moving as their stories of courage are, and as much as I treasure having these kids in my life,  I would much rather live in a world where kids got to be plain old kids.

Doc knew then, that he wanted to start a charity, where the money raised,  would go directly to benefit pediatric cancer treatment and research at the Texas Children’s Cancer Center [TxCCC] based out of the Texas Children’s Hospital. TxCCC is one of the largest pediatric cancer and hematology centers in the world, and sees kids from all 50 states and over 80 countries.  This is how Extra Life was born.

Doc, Lesley, and their network of members and friends devoted countless hours—all of which paid off. I burst into joy when I heard how successful this event was; they raised over $115,000 from people playing videogames! That’s right: $115, 000.

What a truly remarkable event, and one that will be hard to surpass. For all the time and hard work, Doc and Lesley poured into this event, as well as the raised awareness and support they garnered, I have entered them into TBS and Ooopy’s Wall of Fame as the ”Charity Couple of Gaming.” Doc and Lesley, you have inspired so many people and the love and respect that came from this event is unbelievable. I know that Tori would have been so proud to know that you have done this!

Let’s all take a moment today and think of what we can do. Simply by reaching out with $5 or $10 we can provide help for someone else who is in so much need. A community, working together, can accomplish amazing miracles as demonstrated by the people behind the charity Extra Life. In this season of Thanksgiving, be thankful for the blessings in your life, but don’t stop there. By sharing our blessings with others, the way Doc and Lesley have, we will see our world change—even as we sit on our couches playing our games.

<3

Ooopy