A few weeks ago, we set out on our annual mission to collect new and used video games for the Child’s Life departments of Canadian hospitals as part of the Post Arcade Video Game Drive for Kids. And boy, did you people step up and deliver this year.
I’m incredibly pleased to report that thanks to the generosity of National Post readers, Postmedia employees, our corporate partners and our friends in the Canadian video game industry, we set a new record for video games and consoles this year.
In total, we collected more than 1,100 games and 36 consoles which will be distributed to nine hospitals across Canada. In fact, we started shipping out dozens of boxes of games this week which should be making their way to the kids any day now.
In the four years since we launched this little initiative, we have now collected nearly 3,000 games and roughly 75 consoles which are now living inside Canadian children’s hospitals, entertaining thousands of kids every year while they await treatment.
The nine hospitals which will be receiving games from our drive this year are: North York General Hospital in Toronto, Markham-Stouffville Hospital, the Rouge Valley Health System, the Montreal Children’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Surrey Memorial Hospital, the B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, and the Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) in Toronto.
Earlier this week, I was speaking with the Child’s Life co-ordinator at one of the hospitals we work with, who told me that our game drive is her department’s primary source for video games, and that it is your generosity that brightens the day of hundreds of kids every year.
I would like to thank every single person who donated even a single game to our initiative this year, but I would also like to spend a little extra time giving a couple of shout outs to some of the amazing people who pitched in to help make this our most successful game drive ever.
First off, I’d like to thank our friends at Sony Computer Entertainment Canada, who once again stepped up with an amazing donation of several hundred games. Sony has been a terrific supporter of our drive each of the past few years and their support is always mind blowing. Thank you. We salute you.
We would also like to send a special shout out to Ubisoft Canada, who sent me enough games to fill my aging Honda Civic from their Toronto and Montreal studios. Special thanks to the employees of Ubisoft Toronto for bringing in their own used games and making our cause a part of their holiday charity programs. You guys are truly amazing.
One of the coolest gifts we received this year was an incredible care package from our friends at The Source. Imagine our surprise when we opened up those boxes and found five brand new Wii U consoles inside! Thank you for helping us give the hottest gift of the Christmas season to kids who need it most.
We received a bunch of games from National Post and Postmedia employees this year, including Post Arcade’s own Controller Freak, Chad Sapieha (thanks Chad!). But there’s one guy in the Financial Post newsroom who goes above and beyond for this drive every year, and his name is Jonathan Ratner. He doesn’t do it for the kudos, he does it because he’s an awesome dude, so we felt he deserved a shout out. Thanks Jon.
It goes without saying, but I can’t do this whole drive on my own. There are a bunch of folks at the National Post who help out year in and year out, and none of this would be possible without them. Please join me in thanking Becky Frame and Nicole Lever from our promotions department who helped out with promoting the drive, sorting the games and lugging giant boxes of games all over the office. Take a bow ladies. I would also like to thank our receptionist Lisa Hall and our mailroom guru Chris Hart for their help and for letting our game drive disrupt their daily duties.
I’d also like to thank Financial Post Editor Grant Ellis, Editor in Chief Steve Meurice and our Publisher Doug Kelly for their continuing support of the drive and for letting me take time away from the Tech Desk to help the kids.
Thank you to my friend Momin Qureshi of the Fan 590 and 680 News in Toronto for letting me come on the radio to talk about the drive. That interview was a huge help in spreading the word. Thank you also to Jordi Morgan, the host of Maritime Morning out in Halifax, for helping us take the drive national.
One of the most amazing donations this year came from the employees of the Apple Store at Square One in Mississauga. Led by my new friend Emiliano, the employees at the Apple Store banded together to gather a huge collection of games for the kids. Simply amazing.
Finally, each year we get a couple of donations that are special. Not because they’re the biggest, or the most expensive, but because they are donations that come straight from the heart. I’d like to share with you a story about one of the most touching notes I received this year. A friend of mine named Carly sent us a donation of games in honour of her father, David. When Carly was growing up, she and her dad had epic Super Mario marathons, would go the arcade to play Outrun together and would enjoy snowboarding tournaments on the original PlayStation. Sadly, David passed away earlier this year, so Carly took the money she would have spent on him for Christmas and used it to support a few charities he would have liked, including ours. So to Carly, thank you, your dad’s donation is going to make hundreds of kids happy and we’re dedicating this year’s game drive to his memory. This one’s for you David.
Finally, I would like to extend a thank you to all of the child’s life co-ordinators at hospitals across Canada. We do this drive once a year, but you’re out there every day trying to make life better for young Canadians forced to spend time in hospitals. You people are the real heroes in all of this, and we’re just happy to be able to play a small part in what you do.
The bottom line is that none of this would have been possible without the kindness and support of dozens of people. So to everyone who donated, who helped get the word out or who spread the word on Facebook and Twitter, thank you for making life just a little bit easier for some kids in need.
The lake, however, grew obvious with the use of a real-time infrared Enhanced Vision System by Astronics that had been installed in the airplane.
A night vision device, called the Max-Viz-600, showed the lake as a black area on a cockpit display.
The equipment helps pilots see better at night or in bad weather conditions, said Eric Nickelson, chief flight instructor with Cessna Employees’ Flying Club, as he piloted the 182.
It also can help pilots see livestock in a field or wildlife or aircraft on a runway or taxiway. It can show the top of a mountain, section lines for roads, or an unlit landing strip.
“You know exactly where you are,” Nickelson said. “It’s a benefit if, God forbid, there’s an engine failure at night.?… There’s a lot of peace of mind.”
Astronics’ Max-Viz-600 provides additional situational awareness for pilots of Cessna 172, 182 and 206 single-engine aircraft.
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