If you’re a gamer you’ve probably heard the name Extra Life, and I’m not talking about a 1-up in Super Mario. Extra Life is a Children’s Miracle Network charity that makes it easy for gamers of all types to raise money for their local children’s hospitals.

With the motto, “Play Games. Heal Kids.” Extra Life allows gamers to set up their own fundraising page, select their local hospital, set a goal and then take it from there. The challenge is to play games for 24 hours while raising funds through the site.

In 2014, a small group of Oklahoma City Dungeons & Dragons Adventurers League members got together for their own Extra Life fundraiser at Game HQ. Started by Anthony Caroselli, they played D&D and other tabletop games for 24 hours with a meager goal of $200 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation. They ended up raising $643 that weekend and thought, “this could be bigger.”

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