Pandemic Legacy for Pat
This man is Pat Roper.
He's a husband, a father, a podcaster, and a gamer.
In fall of 2016, at the age of 42, he was diagnosed with Stage III pancreatic cancer.
Pat and his wife Beth are both avid gamers and members of the St. Louis gaming community. They both have been rotating hosts on Fear The Boot , a roleplaying game podcast based in the St. Louis area, for several years. They also have 2 boys together, ages 6 and 10, and they have a future to plan with their family. In order to see that future take place, Pat has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments to rid his body of the cancer. Pat is insured, but the costs won't cover everything, and they'll have about $60,000 in medical expenses when all the treatments are finished.
The good news is that they do have a support structure in place, and people have already started to help in several ways. Now, you, as a member of the gaming community, can help out one of your own.
On Friday, May 19th 2017, I'll be running a charity event at Geekway To The West in St. Louis, Missouri to help provide funding for Pat's medical expenses. This is going to be a board game event, where I and other players will play the award-winning game Pandemic Legacy for 24 hours straight, and this GoFundMe page is set up to take donations for this charity event. We'll start the game at 9:00 am on Friday morning and play as many games as possible over that 24-hour period. We might be able to play through the entire game!
Through this charity event, I hope to raise at least $2,200 to help add to Pat's medical fun. There are 2,200 attendees at Geekway, and if every person attending donates even $1.00, we can attain that goal easily!
[EDIT] Now, when you donate, you'll have a chance to win passes to Gen Con 50! The generous folks at Gen Con have donated 2 passes to this year's Gen Con in Indianapolis, IN to help out with this campaign. So here's what we'll do -- for every $20.00 you donate, you'll receive 1 entry into a drawing for 2 passes to Gen Con! Give $60, receive 3 entries. Give $100, receive 5 entries (you get the idea). I'll draw a name at random the week after Geekway and notify the winner through a video announcement on YouTube.
Every dollar you give to this marathon event will go toward's Pat's medical expenses. Outside of the typical fees that GoFundMe takes out, not a penny of the donations collected will go to myself, administrative fees, or anything else, but directly to Pat's medical expense account.
So how can you help? There are several ways to jump in and be a part of this!
1. Make a flat donation to show your support. ANY AMOUNT WILL HELP, even if you can only afford to give a dollar.
2. If you're attending Geekway, play in the game! Players are encouraged to get pledges to play for as many games as they can last, and can jump in at any time (suggested pledge amount is $5.00 per game if playing for the long haul). You can get more details about how to join the game by clicking here:
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/222171/item/5272769#item5272769
3. Sponsor a player with your pledge! If you know someone who is planning on playing in the game, pledge a specific amount to sponsor that player per game. For instance, pledge $10.00 per game for a player; if that player plays in 4 games, your total donation is $40.00. If you know someone who is playing in the game and want to sponsor them, let me know by emailing me at [email redacted].
4. Purchase a Player or Game Sponsorship, which will give a player of your choosing, a random player, or all players a condition they must follow for the game. See a complete list of sponsorship options below.
If you decide to purchase a sponsorship, please note when you make your donation which option you would like to choose, or combine suggested donation amounts and choose multiple options! Please note that most options may be purchased multiple times and applied to multiple games.
SPONSORSHIP OPTIONS (suggested donation amounts):
1. 1 player plays one full game while wearing gloves - $20
2. 1 player plays one full game while wearing an eyepatch - $20
3. 1 players plays one full game in complete silence - $30
4. Have Zach (the organizer) eat a WarHeads Extreme Sour candy after each of his turns for 1 game (he hates them) - $30
5. 1 player drinks no beverages of any kind for 1 game - $30
6. For 1 game, all players decrease their hand limit to 6 cards - $40
7. For 1 game, all players increase their hand limit to 8 cards - $40
8. Start 1 game with only 4 Epidemic cards in the player deck - $30
9. Start 1 game with only 3 Epidemic cards in the player deck - $40
10. Start 1 game with only 2 Epidemic cards in the player deck - $50
11. For 1 game, all players may take only 3 actions per turn - $40
12. For 1 game, all players may take 5 actions per turn - $50
13. For 1 game, all players may take 6 actions per turn - $75
14. Begin 1 game at Infection Rate 3 - $50
15. Begin 1 game at Infection Rate 4 - $75
16. Begin 1 game with the Outbreak token on 2 - $50
17. Begin 1 game with the Outbreak token on 4 - $75
18. For 1 game, allow players to implement 4 end-game upgrades instead of only 2 - $50
19. Allow players to resist scars if they are in a city during an outbreak (Jan, Feb, or March) - $50
20. Allow players to resist scars if they are in a city during an outbreak (April, May, or June) - $50
21. Allow players to resist scars if they are in a city during an outbreak (July, Aug, or Sept) - $50
22. Allow players to resist scars if they are in a city during an outbreak (Oct, Nov, or Dec) - $50
23. Have the players open and use the items in Box 8 after losing only 2 games in a row - $100
24. Zach (the organizer) will buy a meal from the convention center concessions for everyone who plays between 4:00 pm & 7:00 pm - $100
By the way, if you have a sponsorship idea that you'd like to donate towards -- especially if you know Zach, the organizer, and want to make life miserable for him during this game -- by all means, make a donation and suggest your sponsorship perk! Thank you all for your input and participation!
