GameStop Partners with CMN Hospitals, Make-A-Wish To Help Local Kids

Between August 29 and September 30, over 3,800 GameStop stores throughout the U.S. will be raising funds for two of their charitable partners, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Make-A-Wish, in order to “help local kids get back to being kids.”

Customers at GameStop stores will be asked to donate $1 or more or round up their change to the nearest dollar when they make their purchase at the register with all donations being split evenly between the store’s local CMN Hospital and Make-A-Wish.

Individuals can also trade in their unused video game hardware, software, accessories or consumer electronics to GameStop and donate up to 100 percent of the trade in value. GameStop’s PowerUp Rewards members will receive triple rewards points for their donation amounts and can can also donate points to each charity in the PowerUp Rewards Center.

Thousands of GameStop stores throughout the U.S. will be participating in the fundraising campaign.

This new partnership with GameStop is a natural fit for CMN Hospitals as they engage over 50,000 gamers in a 24-hour fundraising and gaming marathon through Extra Life.

To provide the best care for kids, children’s hospitals rely on donations and community support, as Medicaid and insurance programs do not fully cover the cost of care. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and its various fundraising partners and programs, has helped fill those funding gaps with the mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Donations given stay local and go to support the needs of the 170 member children’s hospitals where they are needed most. These unrestricted donations are often used to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Donations help support our mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.

Donations to Make-A-Wish help to provide life-changing wishes for children in every community in the U.S. and over 50 countries worldwide who are being treated for critical illnesses. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight their illness.

JaKiah Collins, pictured above, is just one of the millions of children supported by donations to both CMN Hospitals and Make-A-Wish.

Starting preschool can be overwhelming for some four-year-olds. For JaKiah, the hardest part was saying goodbye to her classmates when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer. A month into the school year, her doctors discovered that a swelling in her abdomen was actually an advanced stage Wilms’ tumor. While her school friends learned the alphabet, JaKiah underwent months of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. Donations to CMN Hospitals helped pay for the new 258,000-square-foot wing at her local hospital that houses the hematology/oncology clinic where JaKiah was treated and the healing garden where she spent days recovering.

In July 2013, about two months after JaKiah’s family found out that she was officially cancer free, Make-A-Wish granted JaKiah her wish to take a trip to Florida with her family.

Now ten years old, JaKiah helps to pay it forward for other kids, serving as a national Champion ambassador for CMN Hospitals and an active participant in fundraising events for Make-A-Wish.