The only charities I participate in are blood drives: I know exactly what I’m giving and exactly how it’ll be used.

Until now, that is.

A fella is setting up a Games for G.I.s program. We send roleplaying games to the soldiers serving overseas. I’ll be sending a whole line of WD stuff. And you don’t need to be a designer to participate. They’re looking for (slightly) used games as well.

I hate Bush and I hate this war, but I love the guys and gals who wear the uniform and do something awful so I don’t have to. If I can do one little thing to make their time a little less awful, I’m gonna do it.

If you want to help us out,

Greetings,

At RPG Blog, we’ve undertaken a new and extremely worthwhile project: Games
For G.I.s. We’ve started gathering both new and (gently) used games and
gaming materials for care packages to go to deployed military gamers and
their units in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other forward areas around the globe.

We are compiling a list of our Armed Forces gamers and their units from
friends and family. It’s our mission to provide a nice care package full of
books, dice, games, and other goodies to everyone on our list. To do this,
we need help, both from individuals and companies in the gaming realm.
Whether it’s just few books, dice, minis, trading cards, or a game, you’ll
have done your part to make an unpleasant place a little brighter for some
truly wonderful people.

If I may speak in terms of personal experience for a minute, I myself was
deployed overseas, away from my loved ones last year, and one of the things
that made it all bearable was the nightly RPG we started up. I’m trying to
bring that same “safety valve” to folks over there right now.

We are currently at an address where we can ship all care packages through
military means free of charge. If you’d like to find out more making a
contribution or volunteering, or if you’d like a copy of our needs list, I
may be contacted at zacharythefirst@hotmail.com. Additionally, if you have
a friend or loved one you’d like added to our care package list, contact us,
and we’d be happy to do so.

The address and central distribution point to send your contributions is:

Games For G.I.s
c/o Zachary Houghton
PSC 62 Box 6902
APO AE 09643

Remember, this is not only a way to make life a little better for some
amazing folks, but these products might be a serviceman or woman’s first
look at an RPG or TCG/CCG. I know in my tour of duty, we gained many new
gamers after they sat in on a few sessions and began to play.

Our goal is to ship at least $2000 worth of care packages, and more if we
can. This email has been sent out to over 50 movers and shakers of the RPG
and Gaming industry—we hope all of you will help us help some very brave,
deserving people. Games For G.I.s depends on all of us if it is to be a
true success. Thank you for your time, compassion, and generosity.

Sincerely,

Zachary Houghton
Editor, RPG Blog
http://rpgblog.typepad.com
Coming Soon—Euro RPG!
zacharythefirst@hotmail.com