The Extra Life Nerds Team Helps Kids Across the US by Hosting Local Events
Extra Life Nerds, formerly known as Team Nerdery, has been going strong for several years, fundraising for kids in Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, and Arizona. The group grew out of employees at the various Nerdery offices discovering Extra Life and wanting to leverage their nerdy interests in a way that could give back to their various communities and the hospitals that had helped them and their children. Finding that the group had grown larger than just those within the company, they changed their name to Extra Lifer Nerds as both a nod to their roots and a more welcoming name for newcomers.
Troy Cleland took leadership of the team from the very beginning. Playing for Extra Life for the past 9 years, Troy was given the Angels in Action Award last year for everything he has done to contribute to Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minnesota through his work with Extra Life Nerds and as president of the Twin Cities Extra Life Guild. Under his leadership, fundraising events around the state have been empowered to find success and support their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. With Extra Life Nerds specifically, Troy has captained the team to raise nearly $200,000 USD since the team began its fundraising efforts, consistently putting Extra Life Nerds in the top 20 teams raising money #ForTheKids.
The Extra Life Nerds team incorporates over 130 gamers across their four central locations. Part of the success that the group has found is in turning parts of the office spaces within the Nerdery into community gaming spaces for Game Day. The company donates the space which those running the events can then use for Rock Band/Karaoke venues, VR stations, auction space, rooms for tabletop roleplaying games like D&D, space for people to bring in consoles or PCs of their own, and more. The Minnesota location, for example, even has an annual midnight dodge ball game!
Giving local gamers a place to go if they want to participate in a big group event for Extra Life has helped Extra Life Nerds grow every year and make their Game Days a draw for the entire community. The employees at the Nerdery are able to leverage their connections with the tech industry to snag cool incentives for giveaways and auctions, giving everyone a chance to pick up something cool during their time marathoning for the kids, confident that the money they bid is going to a great cause.
A huge thank you to Extra Life Nerds for everything they have done for the kids of Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, KU Medical Center, and more. If you’re interested in joining or donating to the Extra Life Nerds team, you can head over to their Extra Life team page. You can also sign up for updates on the team’s activities on the website the team built to help organize itself.
It’s never too late to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! Donations for 2019 are accepted year-round!