Extra Life Celebrates Canadian Thanksgiving

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving, a day for celebrating accomplishments and being thankful for the blessings of the past year. We wanted to take a minute to celebrate the amazing things the Extra Life community has helped accomplish across Canada in just the last month or so. It has been incredible watching Extra Life’s partners and dedicated participants come together to raise awareness, shatter fundraising goals, and even help start entirely new hospitals. This year, we are thankful for all of you. Thank you!

DreamHack Montreal – September 6-8 

DreamHack Montreal kicked off an amazing month for Extra Life in Canada. The competitive gaming event brought together gamers from across all of Canada as well as a large number from the United States. The event was generous enough to provide Extra Life with two booth spaces, one for streamers to raise money for local hospitals and another to talk with attendees throughout the weekend. Streamers took shifts at the booth that varied between 4 -24 hours. Hospital Champion, Jean-Gilles, attended the final two days of DreamHack with his mom, playing new games, interviewing streamers, and chatting with Extra Lifers. In total, the amazing efforts of Extra Lifers at DreamHack Montreal were able to raise over $14,000 CND (over $10,000 USD) for local kids.

Extra Life North – September 7-8 

The same weekend as DreamHack Montreal, Extra Lifers from across central Canada descended upon Winnipeg to participate in Extra Life North, a weekend-long fundraiser to help the kids in the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. Numerous organizations worked with local Extra Lifers to pull the event together, particularly Bold Commerce, Flocker, and RBC. The event was attended by several Miracle Children, local celebrities, and Canadian Olympians. In total, the event raised over $73,000 CND (over $50,000 USD) for the kids of Manitoba.

First Patient Day at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital – September 29 

Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital opened its doors to the very first kids in need of treatment late last month. That tremendous occasion, which was made possible with the support of partners like Extra Life, marked the first time patients in the province had access to a dedicated maternal and children’s hospital. The facility provides tailored care to the needs of babies, kids, and moms who come from across Saskatchewan for help. Hospitals can be scary for kids, so Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital has been built to be as friendly and welcoming as possible to its youngest patients. We here at Extra Life are so proud to have been able to play a small part in making JPCH into a reality. Photos from the event were taken by Lisa Landrie – A Photogenic Life.

Extra Life Ottawa Summit – October 5 

Extra Life guild members in Ottawa were able to partner with their local Marriott Hotel to put together their own gaming event earlier this month! Extra Life Ottawa Summit created a free play area where attendees could enjoy both tabletop and video games while taking in the expansive views from the space the hotel was able to provide. Those who attended the event had a fantastic time gaming, networking, and taking in the event itself. There are currently plans in motion to grow the event for next year while working with the wonderful people at the Ottawa Marriott.

Don’t forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games!