The 24 hour gaming marathon for charity

[Sapience]

Sapience I hope you have lots of coffee on hand for a busy week.

Expansion launch and all the forum moderating that will generate for yourself.
24 hour gaming marathon.
Shopping for costumes & fitting costumes
Ducking the cameras.
Set up live streaming.
Film community update after shopping
Amend 269 and counting forum accounts with new title.
Send 269 and counting emails with game titles.
Trip to the post office.
Sleep (if your lucky)

Did I miss anything.

Seriously +rep for doing the fundraising in the first place. ++++rep for the extra you and all the other turbine staff are putting in to raise as much as you can.

I am guessing you may be highly satisfied but maybe a little cranky in a week or so.

Actually you did. My 81 year old mother is coming to visit for a month starting the day after Rohan launch.

Never underestimate this community's willingness to pitch in for a little ritual humiliation for our community managers...

It's how you know we love you.

Considering you're already to $9,000+ I'm starting to think I set the bar too low on that Legolas thing...

[Almagnus1]

Considering you're already to $9,000+ I'm starting to think I set the bar too low on that Legolas thing...

Why, that's.....











As if you didn't see this one coming a mile away.....

[Nindolvoth]

Sapience is the #1 individual donor now!!!!!!!!

[Cindir]

Sapience, this is awesome. I am happy to see something good like this happen. +1 rep to the community.

[keeker_ks]

I think Sapience better get his razor ready...

Really fantastic to see so many folks contributing to a worthy cause - goes to show how truly amazing this community really is and how willing folks are to lend a hand.

[Sapience]

Sapience is the #1 individual donor now!!!!!!!!

I just want to clarify that I'm the #1 individual fund raiser. You guys are the donors. So while its my name there, it's 100% due to your efforts and amazing generosity. There are nearly 300 of you responsible for that. So far I've been contacted by phone and nine by BCH, Extra Life and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and they're overwhelmed by your support. This was back when we were at $6000ish raised. I told them we were just getting started.

Also, Team Turbine is the #3 overall team, but we are the #1 team raising funds for Boston Children's Hospital.

To put that in context there are nearly 12,000 fund raisers and about 2,000 teams currently involved in Extra Life.

Also, while $9300 is awesome, Team Turbine has raised just over $16,000 so far. Celesteata, Clover, Associate Producer Hannah Foell (#3 fund raiser for BCH!) , DDO's community manager Tolero (gunning for $1800!), and a host of engineers, devs, office staff, QA, even some temps are raising 100s of dollars each from their networks.
They all deserve as much recognition as any of us on the Community team.

Sapience, this is awesome. I am happy to see something good like this happen. +1 rep to the community.

I'm completely blown away. Every time I think we've capped out, you guys raise a couple thousand more dollars in a matter of hours. Ad your generosity is rubbing off. I've got cash and some checks from friends and family I have to send in because your efforts have encouraged them to give, too.

I think Sapience better get his razor ready...

Really fantastic to see so many folks contributing to a worthy cause - goes to show how truly amazing this community really is and how willing folks are to lend a hand.

I do need to run some errands today...$9300 so far. Maybe I'll go look at costumes. I'm still safe from razors at the moment.

The real question is.... How much is it worth if I can get Kate onboard with the fun?

[Landrovas]

The real question is.... How much is it worth if I can get Kate onboard with the fun?

Im telling you, you should all dress up nicely and (not sure this is how you say it in english) make a play about LotR since you will at least have Legolas (with or without a beard), an undead being, a poleaxe weilding character and should have two dwarf beards already planned as i recall a goal saying. Surely it would be a huge hit, maybe you even discover hidden theatrical talents and you wont need actors for the next expansion promo .

Of course as any normal person you probably have stage fright ;-). But then again being willing to shave your beard for a good cause isnt a small feat either!

[ShireDweller]

Im telling you, you should all dress up nicely and (not sure this is how you say it in english) make a play about LotR since you will at least have Legolas (with or without a beard), an undead being, a poleaxe weilding character and should have two dwarf beards already planned as i recall a goal saying. Surely it would be a huge hit, maybe you even discover hidden theatrical talents and you wont need actors for the next expansion promo .

Of course as any normal person you probably have stage fright ;-). But then again being willing to shave your beard for a good cause isnt a small feat either!

You could do a dramatic reading of The Council of Elrond (excerpts, not the whole thing!).

That would be fitting since it deals with our journey to Mordor.

Not sure where the undead being would fit in, but I'm sure you can come up with something!

[Sapience]

Added incentive.

If we hit $9,750 before 5PM Today (about 2.5 hours from now) I'll draw 3 donors at random and you'll get a Rohan Legendary pr-purchase code TODAY.

Currently the total is $9,341.

[Ayrolen]

Added incentive.

If we hit $9,750 before 5PM Today (about 2.5 hours from now) I'll draw 3 donors at random and you'll get a Rohan Legendary pr-purchase code TODAY.

Currently the total is $9,341.

$9467. Go go go!

[Gambald]

$9521!

[Sapience]

$9552. 26 minutes left....

$198 away.

[Deusdictum]

I do need to run some errands today...$9300 so far. Maybe I'll go look at costumes. I'm still safe from razors at the moment.

The real question is.... How much is it worth if I can get Kate onboard with the fun?

I'm very confused. Are you saying that Kate has a beard right now?

[Ravyrn]

Clover, what are the brown candies on top of the cupcakes?

[Sapience]

Clover, what are the brown candies on top of the cupcakes?

If they're what I think they are, they're Brach's Mellowcremes. Basically that same thing as the pumpkins in the other cupcakes, but different shapes/colors.

http://www.brachs.com/products/hallo...n-mellowcremes

I missed out on that batch so I could be wrong.

[sirwillow]

I've had a couple of PM's about one of my previous comments, so I wanted to reply to help explain myself- and to encourage people to give.

Wondering about that big anonymous donation. Big amount, but I'm guessing they didn't want the banner? Very cool watching that come in. Gotta say, it's really neat looking over the donor list and seeing how generous everyone is (well, maybe a couple of exceptions who obviously gave a minimal amount) and how much everyone has given.

Just to be clear- I am NOT referring to those who give $1. I absolutely understand how that can be a sacrificial gift, especially in today's climate. Every dollar counts and adds up. Those small gifts do add up to something much bigger. For many of us (myself included) ever dollar counts when you're trying to figure out how to pay bills and put food on the table. Those single dollars add up- and can add up quickly.

I was referring to the ones that gave $0.01 (one cent). yes, one penny. It actually costs the charity more money to process that transaction because of the fees they are charged by the credit card company than they receive. (depending on services, they may pay between 15 and 25 cents to process that) One penny is someone wanting to get a bunch of things (titles, steeds, etc.) without actually wanting to give or help. Honestly, for what it costs the charity, in the case of a donation that size you're better off keeping it yourself. I know as I do work for a charity myself. We are grateful for every dollar given. We're grateful for even 50 cents- usually given by kids. But a single penny? Please, keep it. If that's all you're willing to give then you probably need it more than who you are giving it to.

I hope that clarifies. I really wasn't trying to be mean or sound ungrateful. Just wanting to encourage people to give- and to give gifts that are actually meaningful, even if it's only $1. Sure, the incentives are great, but they aren't the main reason to give (though they can add to it). But don't give in such a way that you really aren't giving but only getting. (does that make sense? I hope so)

BTW, Sapience is now sitting at $9639, which is awesome!! So neat to be a part of something like this.

[Clover]

If they're what I think they are, they're Brach's Mellowcremes. Basically that same thing as the pumpkins in the other cupcakes, but different shapes/colors.

http://www.brachs.com/products/hallo...n-mellowcremes

I missed out on that batch so I could be wrong.

This is correct!! So yummy! The banana moons are the best!!

[SweetDemise]

I have an idea that I think is pretty awesome.

If someone donates over a certain set amount ($100, $250, $500 -- the Powers-That-Be can decide what it's worth) they get an NPC named after them in-game.

I know that I would donate again, and give that kind of money (even better if it helps sick kids!) to have this happen!

[Sapience]

I have an idea that I think is pretty awesome.

If someone donates over a certain set amount ($100, $250, $500 -- the Powers-That-Be can decide what it's worth) they get an NPC named after them in-game.

I know that I would donate again, and give that kind of money (even better if it helps sick kids!) to have this happen!

It's a great idea, but unfortunately not something we can do.

Just thought I'd give an overall update of Team Turbine this time around.

We've raised $16,800.00 to date thanks to friends, family, fellow employees, and our incredible communities.

There are currently 51 members of Team Turbine and they are not just Turbine employees, but also some of our players have joined the team to help raise money for their own local children's hospitals. We even have a few players who have joined from other countries to help raise money for charities local to them and at least one I know playing for Boston Children's Hospital from Germany.

Team Turbine is currently raising money for nearly 30 Hospitals around the world. THese hospitals span two dozen US states and include international hospitals and systems like the NHS in the UK.

Here's a list of all the Hospitals and Children's charities Team Turbine members are raising funds for during this event (in no particular order).

• Dayton Children's Hospital
• Boston Children's Hospital
• Hasbro Children's Hospital
• Seattle Children's Hospital
• Los Angeles Children's Hospital
• Riley Hospital For Children
• Texas Children's Hospital
• Baystate Children's Hospital
• Sacred Heart Health System Children's Hospital
• Johns Hopkins Children's Center
• Children's Healthcare of Atlanda
• St Luke's Children's Hospitals
• Mercy Children's Hospital
• NHS (United Kingdom)
• Nationwide Children's Hospital
• Sacred Heart Medical Center
• Children's Hospital of Illinois
• University of South Alabama Children's and Women's Hospital
• Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
• KU Pediatrics (University of Kansas Medical Center)
• Cook Children's
• Levine Children's Hospital
• Eastern Maine Health System Charities
• Children's Hospital San Antonio
• GIllette Children's Specialty Health Care
• Kosair Children's Hospital
• NHS Wales
• UCDavis Children's Hospital

For most of us, this is personal. We either were helped, had family helped, or have friends who were helped by those hospitals and charities.

Oh and new challenge up to beat by 7PM (Eastern US time)Tonight.

[Ayrolen]

• Texas Children's Hospital

YAY! Nice to see a local hospital on the list, getting some love.

[cossieuk]

Sacred Heart Health System Children's Hospital
Sacred Heart Medical Center

Nice to see Turk and JD helping out

[Landrovas]

Nice to see Turk and JD helping out

Dont forget Rowdy :P.

[Brandon_Blackbird]

Congrats to Sapience for breaking $10,000 donated, and to Team Turbine for breaking $17,000!

[Ayrolen]

Congrats to Sapience for breaking $10,000 donated, and to Team Turbine for breaking $17,000!

Start practicing your stick-up-the-rear elf posture, Sapience! I expect this to look very real on camera.

[Sapience]

First the good news..

$10,000.00 raised to help heal sick kids! That is utterly amazing.

The bad news....

No one sells a legolas costume that even comes close to fitting this stunning Body by Twinkie.


The more good news...

The better half is wicked with a sewing machine. She's also made her own costumes for her community theater work in the past. We just got back from the local fabric shop with a bag full of supplies. She has a great pic of the original costume (not the knock off in the picture) and a pattern that's pretty darn close.

Not saying we're getting an exact clone of the movie costume, but it's going to be far better than the $20 iparty version.

Other more good news...

We hit $10,100!! So everyone will be part of the 7PM (about an hour) drawing for 3 rohan codes. As long as you've made a donation (and please make at least $1, less costs the charity to process) by 7PM tonight you're part of that drawing. Codes will be sent immediately so you'll be ready for tomorrow.

I can't begin to thank everyone. I can't begin to tell you what it means to the people who have sent me PMs, Emails, and other notes telling me how important this is to them and their families and friends who have children who sadly need to use the services that Children's Miracle Network Hospitals provide.