It’s that time of year again — The AbleGamers Charity’s annual Unlocktober fundraising initiative kicks off tomorrow, Thursday, October 1, 2020. This year, the initiative has a unique vision: ensuring the future of AbleGamers.
AbleGamers COO Steven Spohn has been with the charity for well over a decade and this year, he has chosen to use his 40th birthday wish to raise $1,000,000 in order to keep AbleGamers running and empowering people with disabilities through video games for years to come.
At its core, Unlocktober is an entire month of fundraising to support The AbleGamers Charity in unlocking opportunities and enabling play for people with disabilities. Streamers and content creators can get involved by hosting their own fundraising initiatives and setting up a donation page at www.soeveryonecangame.com. Creators that raise over $500 during their campaign are eligible for an exclusive AbleGamers fundraising hoodie!
“For your 40th birthday you’re supposed to do something big; to me, nothing is bigger than ensuring that everyone has the ability to play games and be a part of an inclusive, welcoming community,” Steven explains. “It’s been an uphill battle getting the game industry to take accessibility seriously, blazing a path alongside the most passionate advocates in the industry. In the end, all I want is to guarantee when time runs out on the invisible clock ticking above my head that others will be able to pick up where I left off.”
How Creators Can Fundraise During Unlocktober
Creators can get themselves and their communities involved in Unlocktober by doing the following:
- Register to fundraise for the AbleGamers 2020 fundraising campaign on Tiltify
- Plan your event! Looking for suggestions on how to start? Here’s a great resource from Twitch’s Director of Charity Partnerships
- Set up Tiltify features like plugins and alerts (Resources link)
- Optional, but fun: tag @AbleGamers in your social posts sharing the event
- Have fun fundraising with your community!
Additionally, Humble Bundle partners that would like to support the organization can do so by selecting AbleGamers as their charity of choice in the Partner Dashboard, found here: https://www.humblebundle.com/partner.
More About The AbleGamers Charity
The AbleGamers Charity is an organization dedicated to bringing inclusion and improved quality of life for people with disabilities through the power of video games. The charity uses a combination of assistive technologies such as mouth controllers, eye gaze, and specially customized controllers in order to find a way for people to play video games, no matter their disability. AbleGamers believes there is no “cookie-cutter” way to help get people back in the game — engineers take time with each individual to identify their specific needs and wants, along with their abilities and challenges, to determine the exact equipment needed.
Recipients never pay a penny for help from AbleGamers — all services are covered by the generous donors that keep the charity thriving and able to help those in need. To learn more about AbleGamers and how to participate in fundraising, or make a direct donation, visit the official site here: https://ablegamers.org.
Through their Accessible Player Experience (APX), AbleGamers advises developers and publishers on how to best incorporate accessibility options so that their video game titles may reach and appeal to the widest and most diverse audience possible. To learn more about APX, visit accessible.games.
The AbleGamers Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Keep up with AbleGamers by following the charity on Twitter, Instagram, and “liking” on Facebook.
