Mercer’s Gaming Society to host fundraiser for local Macon children’s hospital

Mercer’s Gaming Society is currently planning a 12-hour gaming marathon to raise money for Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital in Macon. 

On Feb. 15, participants of the “Extra Life” marathon will be in Knight Hall from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The marathon will include activities like board games, poker, video games and roleplaying games, provided by participating organizations. 

Other Mercer organizations, such as Aces Up Poker Club, Mercer E-Sports and National Society for Leadership and Success, are participating, but the Gaming Society has also partnered with Middle Georgia State University’s table talk gaming club and their gaming society, Society for Overactive Imaginations.

President of Mercer’s Gaming Society Daniel Marcuse-Gonzalez said that they have incentives planned for donors. He plans to match the first $100, but other incentives include the Gaming Society hosting a Wendy’s roleplay game at $300, one of their officers having their new hair style decided on at $500 and all of the officers of the organization wearing dresses to their next meeting at $700. 

Their treasurer Joe Keller created a token system to drive up donations. For every dollar someone donates, they earn tokens in return. Those tokens can then be exchanged for bonuses and advantages throughout the day’s activities, such as banning or unbanning a specific character in their Super Smash Bros. tournament or forcing another player to fold in poker.

The Gaming Society is preparing for at least 50 people to attend, but said they hope for more. Their current donation goal is $1,000 to Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital. The hospital is the sole children’s hospital in the central and southern Georgia region. 

Marcuse-Gonzalez toured the hospital after their recent building addition. 

“It’s a great facility, and they serve thousands of kids every year, and we think it’s a really great cause,” he said. 

The Gaming Society said they have considered doing this fundraiser before, but were never able to get it off the ground. As a senior and now president of the society, Marcuse-Gonzalez decided that they should do it in his final year at Mercer. He said that they hope it will become an annual event, and that if they do it again, it will be bigger and better.