"Wargaming for charity." Topic

I am thinking about setting up a small regional gaming event which raises money for the Wounded Warriors Project. My vision is to find a facility that will host the event and then game masters to run games for players willing to pay to play or perhaps an entrance fee. If space can be donated then all of the fees can be turned over straight to the charity.

What I am looking for is the level of interest in this type of event as well as any experiences you may have had with similar things. I am based in Northeast Ohio so that would be the location of the first event if this gets off the ground.

Participated last Fall for the Wounded Warrioralso at a local shop .
We did an all day FOW fest . We had a few pieces and small armies donated and raffled off also It was fun and packed.
I suggest a popular venue and you should succeed

I've help raise over $23 USDk for Toys or Tots in the last 8 years, does that count? PM me or email me at shawnreis @ hotmail . Com and I'll give you some info that might help.

This is a vey good cause.

Moe

I'd be happy to GM some games if I can work it into my schedule. mrutz AT verizon DOT net

Where in NE Ohio? I'm in Western PA.

I've often thought its sad that we need a charity to help and care for our Wounded Warriors…they give so much and are often left on their own to deal with the injuries they got serving their Country…am I wrong???

Anyway, if I'm close enough, I'd be in.

BTW, Moe, you do an amazing job with TFTs. $23 USDK = hundreds and hundreds of greatful, happy kids!

Suggestion: Include an auction (silent, voice, or both) using donated items with all proceeds going to the charity – mage-page.com/index.htm has been doing this successfully (over $20 USDk so far, iirc) for years.

I'm located in the Akron-Canton area of Ohio but I would imagine running it in a location that is easier to get to in Northeast Ohio. Somewhere not too far from the turnpike but still provides easy access from Columbus and Cleveland.

As for the silent auction, that sounds like a good idea.

Trust me, there has been a LOT of money put into programs for returning wounded veterans. No program is perfect, and any problems end up making the news, but there is now a MUCH better follow-up for both physical and mental health issues than ever before. Just take a look at all they are now doing: va.gov. I'm not personally involved in any of these programs, but the company I work for has had a long-term contract supporting some of them. There really is an emphasis on providing care and showing sympathy for these veterans. Also: Wounded Warrior Project Link

Firstvarty1979 – I agree that things are far more better now then they were in the past. I also feel at we must keep doing all we can to support the various programs directed to the vets out there. 3 of my 4 kids are serving military with two of them having served in Afghanistan (the 3rd has only been a Marine for a few months) so support for our vets is very personal for me. Which is one reason why probably I feel we must keep doing what we can.

Based on my schedules my particiaption would depend on the weekend it was held. Very good cause. I second a raffle idea; with the right stuff they are a big money maker.

At LittleWars we hold a Silent Auction for "The Wounded Warriors Project" Each year we have run it we have raised over $500.00 USD for the fund. It does not take much effort, and we hope to get someone willing to volunteer to act as event manager for the auction and keep it as a regular feature/event for the convention.

If you wanted to run a convention with all proceeds going to the fund I would suggest contact a local VFW/AFW, school, museum, and ask if they would participate in an event providing their facility at no cost.

These are all very good ideas and are much appreciated. Raffles & auctions are on the project plan now.

I have approached schools, VFW/AFW, etc. but the best deal I could get was a reduced rate at a VFW hall. I will pay that out of my own pocket as its only a few hundred dollars. We really want 100% of the receipts to go to this charity.

We are lining up donations from local/regional hobby shops and even have a garage door installation company donating two automatics garage door openers to raffle off. It's a bit unusual of an item to raffle at a wargaming show but beggars can't be choosers.

Please keep the ideas coming. Also watch the TMP for the announcement of the date and location.

We are close to booking a venue and a date for sometime in August. The location is in the Akron-Canton area of Ohio. Are there any folks out there that are willing to consider hosting a game or two?

Hello again – we are down to three Saturday dates in September and I would like to get some ideas from you folks out there your thoughts on them:

August 17 – this is the same day as Gencon which draws a number of people from the Ohio & Michigan regions as well as West Virginia and western Pennsylvania I would imagine.

August 24 – this is the day for the Guns of August show in Williamsburg Virginia so it probably wouldn't impact our attendance.

August 31 – this Labor Day weekend.

As you can see each day has its draw backs but I am leaning towards recommending the 24th. I don't think that we would get much attendance on Labor Day weekend but I could be wrong. What is your opinion?

You're probably correct about the labor day impact to
attendance.

We moved our fall event off the Labor Day week-end 10-11
years ago for that reason.

Our events provide some money to charities, not as much
as we'd like since the venue cost has increased.