Gaming for a very special cause

Port Williams resident raises significant funds for IWK Foundation

Anyone who knows Ross Chapman knows he enjoys video games.

What they may not know is that for the past 10 years Chapman has used his hobby to raise money for the IWK Foundation. In fact, the foundation recently sent the Port Williams resident a commemorative coin for surpassing $10,000 in funds raised.

“It was around the time that live-streaming video games was becoming popular that I heard about this charity called Extra Life,” Chapman recalls.

Extra Life is a fundraising program of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Participants live-stream as they play video games, and viewers make donations.

The funds go to children’s hospitals to support critical, life-saving treatments and services as well as innovative research and pediatric medical equipment.

“Players create their own Extra Life profile and when people go to your profile and click Donate the money goes to the hospital that you’ve chosen,” Chapman explains.

While Extra Life runs year-round, there is a special games day held each autumn, in which participants are challenged to play a 24-hour marathon session to raise funds. Chapman did this for several years and then decided to raise the stakes.

“I was starting to find 24 hours was a bit easy, so I decided I would aim for 36 hours,” he recalls. “It’s been a 36-hour marathon for the last three years.”

On Nov. 4, 2022, Chapman upped the ante once again and played for 40 consecutive hours. During that time, he might have spent a total of 45 minutes away from the camera, for bathroom breaks, stretching and food preparation. Meals are consumed while playing, but that is not a huge inconvenience, Chapman says.

“One thing I’ve learned over the years is that when you’re sitting still for 40 hours straight you don’t tend to eat that much,” he laughs. “You’re not exactly burning off a lot of calories.”

Extra Life began almost 15 years ago at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, where 11-year-old Victoria Enmon was undergoing an extended stay as she received a bone marrow transplant. She enjoyed playing video games and as her story spread in the online gaming community, people began sending Victoria games. So many games came in from all over the world that Victoria began giving games away to other kids in the hospital.

Victoria passed away on

Jan. 21, 2008 and her friends wanted to continue her legacy. On Oct. 15, 2008, more than 1,200 gamers took part in the first Extra Life marathon. Since that time, Extra Life has raised more than

$100 million.

This past year Chapman raised $3,051, playing a mix of multi-player and singleplayer games during the marathon session that began at 7 a.m. on Saturday.

“During the prime-time hours on Saturday night you’ll have the opportunity to play multi-player games,” he says. “But by 5 a.m. on Sunday it’s probably going to be just you.”

Some of his games included Beholder, Final Fantasy

XIV, Mario Kart 8, Mordor: Shadow of War and Planet Coaster. The farming simulator game, Stardew Valley, has become one of Chapman’s staple games during the marathon.

“You put down seeds, water your plants and cut down trees,” he says. “You slowly become a farmer, and for some reason it’s just really relaxing first thing in the morning.”