GameHearts – Putting gaming to good use

The people at GameHearts contacted me recently and I found the program pretty fascinating.  Here, I will let their founder, Ron Glick, explain it in his own words:

GameHearts is a public benefit nonprofit organization committed to providing alternative forms of entertainment to adult members of the Kalispell area for the purpose of promoting adult sobriety. The program achieves its directive by providing free and low cost gaming activities in a supervised non-alcoholic, sober environment, along with access to gaming accessories that are provided without cost to the participants. In fact, beginning players can learn and obtain free gaming materials solely for playing.

The primary games that the program uses are tabletop customizable games, such as card and miniature games (CCGs and CMGs), though there is also a strong interest in promoting role playing games (RPGs), as well. GameHearts is working toward the betterment of our region through encouraging alternative gaming activities amongst participants on Friday and Saturday nights, as opposed to frequenting bars and casinos in the area, as well as to inspire decision making and problem solving abilities by teaching and promoting educational and strategic games and activities, using CCGs, CMGs and RPGs as alternative entertainment.

Being a charitable organization, GameHearts is always looking for donations of excess cards, figures, rulebooks and other gaming accessories to use in teaching and promoting these games, though also for any other collectible genre material that can be used for fund raising. Additionally, since gamers are a largely diverse and wide-spread community, the program relies upon inter-community associations and contacts to aid it in advertising the program’s existence and its needs to those whom GameHearts’ staff alone may not be able to contact. Essentially, any gamer, collector, retailer or manufacturer who may acquire excess materials from these kinds of games represent potential contributors to the program, and it is the program’s hope that individuals within the gaming community will help in soliciting the program’s efforts. And the more support the program receives, the greater the service it can provide.

Donations made to the program are tax deductible, since they are made to a community benefit nonprofit organization. GameHearts assesses the value of each donation and issues receipts upon request for this purpose. The only requirements for donations is that the material not be worn, as these materials are considered “marked” in game play, and that individual donations not exceed $5,000 each (a rule of the IRS, not GameHearts itself). Otherwise, any gaming material is accepted and assessed, regardless of its rarity (ie, commons, uncommons, rares, etc.) or the game from which it comes.

For further information about GameHearts and the service we provide, please feel free to visit the program’s website at:   http://GameHearts.org

That’s a pretty nifty program – let’s hope it spreads across the country (or even the world).