Give to Game Pictures!

It took me awhile, but I finally have pictures from the event!!

Giving the food and money to CAFB

300lbs of food!!

Group shot

Jonathan was an awesome auctioneer!

Raffle:

Being interviewed by fox news @ Tribe Comics

Live Auction

Success!

Yesterdays event was a lot of fun and more importantly It was an enormous success. We more than doubled what we brought in last year. Initial estimates show that we raised over $1600 and about 300lbs of food!!! We also doubled our attendance with 60 people participating this year! We will be updating soon with the final tally and pictures from the event! So stay tuned!

All of this could not have been possible without the help of our sponsors and volunteers--THANK YOU!!!!

In case you missed out on giving, you can still give through our virtual drive on the Capital Area Food Bank's website. Click HERE. Please consider this charity in your giving this year as they have seen a 40% increase in request for services. They are currently serving 48,000 people a week, 41% of which are children.

A big thank you to those who gave of your time, talents and funds!!! We hope to see you all there next year. We already have some fun, new and exciting ideas stewing.

Pre-registration is now CLOSED!

Pre-registration on our virtual drive is now closed. You may gain admittance to the event tomorrow by paying $20 at the door or by bringing a grocery bag of non-perishable food items. See you all tomorrow!!!

Fox Morning News Segments

Here is the link to the interview of me with Fox newscaster, Nick.

Newscast Video link

What Should I Donate?

If you plan on donating one grocery bag of food to your admission, you may be wondering what you should give. There are more details on the admission page, but here is how I filled my bag from last year:

• 1 Box of Cereal
• 1 Bag of Rice
• 1 Bag of Noodles
• 1 Peanut Butter
• 1 Baby Food
• 1 Can of Spaghetti Sauce
• 2 Cans of Black Beans
• 2 Cans of Green Beans
• 2 Cans of Pork and Beans
• 2 Cans of Mixed Vegetables
• 2 Cans of Tuna

This can be used as a guideline for what we're expecting, though feel free to contribute whatever non-perishable food items you want. The more you give, the more needy families you'll be helping out.

Give to Game on Fox 7

This morning my co-organizer and wife Kelly was supposed to appear on Fox 7 in a segment promoting Give to Game, but it was bumped. The good news is that they are going to try to do it Friday morning. The segments will be live and take place at one of our sponsors, Tribe Comics & Games. So, tune in tomorrow morning at 7:10, 7:40, and 8:10.

Give to Game 2010 Library

I have created a list of games that I will be bringing to Give to Game for the library. I tried to pick a good variety from my collection. Last year, a lot of people brought their own games, so between the library and those games, there will be definitely not be a shortage of things to play. Get ready to play!

Only Four More Days!

Time is flying. I have been very busy this week. I got the key for the building - always a good thing. I printed off the tags for the auction items as well as the rules. Last night I was preparing the raffle items and their ticket boxes. There are eight lots of games that you can enter to win (one of them is a mystery box). I'll be heading over to CAFB to pick up the food boxes to we have a place to store our grocery bags. Still lots to do!

One thing you can do is make sure to let everyone know that it is this Saturday! Clear your schedules and get ready to play some games.

Last Days of Thought Hammer Deal

I just wanted to remind everyone that the deadline for ordering games with the special deal from Thought Hammer is this Monday (the 5th). Here's why you should order:

• You will get free shipping to Give to Game no matter how few games you purchase.
  
• %5 of the total sales will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank.
  

For more details, see our Thought Hammer Special Deal page.

Fireside Games Donates!

Justin De Witt from Fireside Games has just donated a copy of Castle Panic for the auction! If you haven't played it, it's a really fun cooperative board game where you and your friends try to hold back invaders from destroying your castle. Thanks Justin!

Tribe Comics and Games Donates!

Tribe Comics and Games, the new game store in South Austin, has donated a copy of The Tower of Mystery for our auction. Thanks Tribe! Our sponsor list is growing and it is great to see the gamers of Austin coming together!

The Game Auction

We will be having a game auction this year again at Give to Game. Last year we had a lot of fun with it, and we hope to have even more this year since it will be a regular auction (instead of a silent one). You won't have to feel bad if you overbid because all money collected from the auction will go directly to the Capital Area Food Bank. I have just finished making a list of auction items. You can browse this list here:

Give to Game 2010 Auction Preview

The auction will start at 7:00pm and should last about an hour. Depending on how fast it goes and how many people are clamoring to bid, we may add more.

During the day of the event, up until the auction starts, each of the items will be available to examine and purchase. There will be a "Buy it now" listed on all of the auction games. This is for people who can't stay for the auction, or people who just want to make sure nobody else steals it from them at the auction.

Hope to see you there! And make sure to bring some cash!

What Did Dingus Bring Us?

So Betty Dingus did it again! She donated around 60 more games!!! I had to cram it all in my car just to get it home. I just got through sorting them out last night, and still can't believe it. It went across the spectrum from Fortress America to Dungeon Twister. There are a lot of out-of-print games that I know a lot of people would love to get their hands on. I still need to sort out which will go in the auction and which will go in raffles. I'll post more info soon.

I can't stress enough that you need to remember to bring some cash to the event! There will be plenty of opportunities to get some great games!

Same Location, Different Building

Last year Give to Game was held in a building behind Holy Cross Lutheran Church. It worked out great for us, and we are very grateful that they let us use it. We couldn't have run the event without it!

Although we will still be on the same grounds, this year we will be having it in a different building, the Fellowship Hall. I just found out about this today, but it turns out that this is a good thing (except for the now out-of-date fliers we handed out). The open space is much bigger and there are a lot more tables.


View Give To Game in a larger map

We'll have signs to direct you to the right building just in case you get lost.

Only three weeks away!

A Generous Donation

On Tuesday night, I met with Betty Dingus at Austin Pizza to pick up some games she bought for Give to Game. We got to her car and started transferring box after box after box. I was stunned! Then she said that I didn't need to reimburse her, and that the event could have them for free! That was mighty generous! She ended up donating around 35 brand new games! This should make the door prize table a lot more interesting, and it goes a long way toward out goal of letting everyone go home with a game.

Thanks Betty!

If you have a game (new or used) that you would like to donate to Give to Game, just bring it along and let us know. We can put it in the auction, raffle, or just as a door prize - whichever you want.

One Month Countdown

Only one more month until Give to Game! (Actually, it was one month yesterday)

We're slowly getting things ready. I picked up some games from Great Hall on Friday. It was a very generous donation! Thanks again Great Hall! After sorting things out, we have a good number of door prizes, raffles items, and auction items.

Speaking of auctions, this year we're going to have an old-fashioned auction. Last year's silent auction was fun, but I think it would be better for the cause to have a called out one. I asked Jonathan Grabert if he would help out this year and call the auction. I've only experienced his auction abilities in board game situations, but he gets my seal of approval. As we get closer to the event, I'll be posting a list of auction items.

New Sponsor: Great Hall Games

Great Hall Games is going to sponsor us again this year by donating some games. Last year they helped us out tremendously by donating a lot of games and puzzles for door prizes and auctions. Thank you Great Hall! I'll post more info after I pick them up.

Spread the Word!

This year's flier is available for download. Please feel free to download it and post it anywhere you think gamers might gather. Hand it out to your game group. Post it at your school. Find a bulletin board and stick it up!

Click here to download the Give to Game flier.

Picking Up a Donation

I took a trip to Dragon's Lair last night and picked up their donations to Give to Game. They donated a $20 gift certificate to their store and some games. Initially, I was only expecting to get one game, but I was surprised to receive two!

The first game donated is Change Horses. I haven't played this one, but it looks interesting. Its a a horse racing game where you secretly own a horse. At the end of the game, the the player that bet on the last place horse wins.

The second game donated is Age of Gods. This is a game where you are playing as ancient gods who are helping their chosen tribes conquer the land. Sounds like fun!

Thanks Dragon's Lair! Look for a chance to win these at Give to Game!

Dragon's Lair Donates!

Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy is going to sponsor us again this year! They'll be donating a game as well as a gift certificate to their store. We're still in the process of planning out how these goodies will be sorted out, but expect an auction, raffle, or some other fun event.

If you haven't been to Dragon's Lair in awhile (or at all), you should check them out. They're on Burnet Road just north of 2222 in Austin. They have a huge selection of board games and plenty of demo copies if you are interested in trying some out. (They are even having a sale going on now) On Monday nights, they have open gaming so if you're looking for someplace to play all of those board games, that's a good place to find players.

Thank you Dragon's Lair!

Thought Hammer's Helping Out Again!

We asked Thought Hammer, the Austin-based online board game store, if they'd like to help out again this year, and they emphatically said yes! This year they're going to be doing something a bit different and very awesome! Here's the deal...

Thought Hammer "Give to Game" Special

If you place an order with Thought Hammer by April 5th, 2010 and use a special coupon code, you can get free shipping to the Give to Game event. On top of that, a donation of 5% of the total sales from this deal will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.

Here are the Details:

• The order cutoff date is the end of the day on Monday, April 5th, 2010.
• In the shipping section, just put your normal address and check "Add to existing order" if the order is less than $100, and in the comments section, put "This is for Give to Game".
  
• Use the coupon code TH_GTG_10 in the discount coupon section.
• The shipping will be free, but all games will be delivered to the event. Again, you won't receive your games until they are handed out on Saturday, April 10th, at Give to Game. Do not use this deal if you don't plan on attending.
  
• If you order anything that is backordered or pre-ordered, and
  it does not show up by Monday April 5th, then it won't ship with the other
  games, and they will cancel it and refund you the money.
• If you have any questions, contact us or Thought Hammer and we'll get it sorted out.

[EDIT: You need to check "Add to existing order" if the order is less than $100]

It's that time of year again! Give to Game is coming!

Give to Game is a board gaming event in Austin, Texas, whose goal is to collect food and raise funds for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Come join us for a day of open gaming and a chance to win some great door prizes! Last year we raised over $800 and over 250 lbs. of food, so come out and help us beat that goal!

Date & Place
The event takes place on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 10:00 AM to Midnight at Holy Cross Lutheran Church on 4622 S Lamar Blvd Austin, Texas.

Admission
Admission to the event is either one grocery bag of non-perishable food or a donation of $20 at the door (or $15 if you register online). To register online, visit our Capital Area Food Bank page and make a donation of $15 or more (you'll have to enter the amount) and you'll be all set. if you have any questions, email us at givetogame@gmail.com

Games
We will be providing a library of games from our collection for anyone to play, but feel free to bring your own games! If you haven't played anything beyond Monopoly and Sorry, then you are in for a treat. There has been an explosion in the quantity and quality of board gaming world in the last 15 years. Don't worry if you don't know how to play, because there will be plenty of friendly folks on hand to help out and teach you. Come on down and have some fun!

Food & Drinks
There will be drinks and snacks available for a small donation.

Door Prizes
Last year, everyone who came was able to go home with a free game as a door prize. We're in the process of trying to do the same again this year!

Auctions and Other Events
Last year we had a silent auction that was a lot of fun, and this year we are going to try something similar. There will also be a special game swap that is in the works.

More Info to Come Soon...