Gaming-Aid partners with Safe In Our World

Gaming-Aid has become the latest organisation to partner up with Safe In Our World. This exciting new partnership will enable us to collaborate with the charity on a number of projects, including game and console distribution to Children’s hospitals, joint panels and events, and further exploring the links between mental health and gaming.

Founded in 2013, Gaming-Aid is the brainchild of Ingo Horn. Now Wargaming’s Communication Director for Europe, Horn’s idea to launch the charity came from hearing of various personal difficulties and obstacles people were facing in the games industry. He felt compelled to do something to help. 

So, Horn decided to present his idea at the developer conference Quo Vadis in Berlin in Spring 2013. The response was immediately positive and people were eager to get on board and support it. The German charity was launched and Gaming-Aid’s life-changing work could begin. 

Together with the help of players, publishers and developers, Gaming-Aid’s mission is to support people and families in need. This support includes gaming-related assistance to those struggling due to illness, granting scholarships to prospective students unable to afford games-related studies, and providing gaming hardware donations to hospitals and youth clubs in need. 

Their impassioned call to the industry of “Let’s do something good together!” has since seen the charity contribute to a variety of causes. 

In January each year, the scholarship application process begins for the disadvantaged seeking games-related education. Applicants come from all over the EU, with top German game developers and publishers brought on board to assess and co-finance these scholarships. Svenja Bhatty, CEO of Gaming-Aid, said of the initiative: “The reactions in the industry and from the universities…show us that this scholarship is a great thing that brings a lot to everyone involved.” With this proven success, the charity is determined to continue offering up annual BA and Masters funds for those in need.  

CEO, Svenja Bhatty & Vice Chair, Christiane Gehrke

Asides from educational funding, event hosting and donations are a central part to Gaming-Aid’s work. December last year saw them host Twitch streams to raise money for various causes, including the Karlsruhe children’s hospice. Then, in February, they were able to donate hardware for a FIFA tournament hosted by youth outreach organisation, MAJA. Following the event, MAJA was able to then utilise this hardware for some of their youth programmes. 

This month, the charity helped tackle the difficulties being faced due to COVID-19, donating Nintendo Switches, laptops and software to the residents of the Don Bosco children’s home.

Examples of the charity’s transformative work do not stop here. Over the years, Gaming-Aid has launched a number of projects to help those in need. There was their #GamingAid4Refugees campaign in 2015, the purpose of which was to encourage the games industry to support local refugee homes via donations. Then there is their support provided for the therapy-app, “Patchie”, which helps children coping with diseases like cystic fibrosis or cancer. They also organise game design workshops in cooperation with the school4games.

Gaming-Aid continues to launch gaming initiatives to help those in need and we’re proud to have them on board as a partner. You can find out more about getting help from the charity or supporting them via donations here.