The Gaming to Give” charity fundraiser inaugural event will take place on Thursday, January 29th, at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona. The event will take place from 3 pm to 7 pm local time and is the brainchild of All Sports United.
Alan Pavlosky and Scott Manthorne are the co-founders of All Sports United, a non-profit corporation that was started almost four years ago. “The goal is to create a community built for collaboration between athletes and sports industry professionals to emphasize best practices in philanthropy work”, said Pavlosky.
The idea of Gaming to Give came about after Alan and Scott were considering hosting an event during the Superbowl week, but they wanted the event to be unique. That is where Tiltify came in to the picture. Pavlosky explained, “Tiltify came to speak at one of our workshops and their platform has been well received by athletes, many of whom love video games. Tiltify specializes in video gaming for charity so we decided to partner with them to run the tournament at “Gaming to Give.” We knew this would be a really unique and fun event that people can enjoy and would allow us to raise some money for the charities competing.
Numerous celebrities will be playing the game “Super Smash Bros” on the Nintendo Wii, in a tournament style format to win money for the charity of their choice. Just some of the many celebrities confirmed to attend the event are: Former Green Bay Packers Running Back Ahman Green, recording artist Brian McKnight, Detroit Lions Safety James Ihedigbo, St Louis Rams Offensive Guard Davin Joseph, New York Giants Punter Steve Weatherford, and Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Ed Moses.
Another one of the athletes due to compete at the the event is Arizona Cardinals Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, who is playing for his own charity, the ACES foundation, which stands for Accountability, Communication, Education, and Sports. Alexander said the goal of his foundation was, “Trying to instill those four principles into young people so they can be well rounded, educated, and in most cases a sport will allow them to go to college and have it paid for. I wouldn’t have been able to go to Cal Berkeley if it wasn’t for a scholarship.”
Alexander, who was looking for something to do during Superbowl week to bring awareness to his hometown and community in Arizona then continued to say, “I’m just equipping them and opening up some doors for them so they can be successful, to become a great member of the community. Whether it’s a garbage man, a manager at McDonald’s, a doctor, or lawyer, it’s just about having a strong family unit and giving back to their community, whether it’s time, money, whatever is needed so we can created a positive cycle and ultimately change the neighborhoods and cities that a lot of guys come from that do play in the NFL.”
Giving back is something that Alexander loves to do. “It’s become a part of who I am and part of my DNA. Growing up, I had so many people to help me achieve my dreams and aspirations. Now having that platform, it’s just great to be able to give back and serve others with the resources, the knowledge, that I’ve obtained over the years to help them out in anyway. To raise money for a charity is always fun and it gives me an excuse to play video games, can’t do that too much more with family”, said Alexander. Even though Alexander doesn’t play video games much anymore, he did have a message for his opponents, and it was short and sweet, “Beware”.
Tickets for the event can be found at the following link: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/gaming-to-give-tickets-13995734619
For information on sponsorship opportunities you can email: Alyssa@endlesspossevents.com
