Bungie's philanthropic entity, The Bungie Foundation, carries forward our mission to make the world a better place through our charter of reducing distress and suffering in children through entertainment, fostering charitable giving in our team, and engaging the Bungie gaming community to give back. We're very fortunate to be able to do what we do, and we believe strongly in giving back to the world that plays our games.
Bungie has always believed that while dollars can go a long way, the true impact of a charitable endeavour is made when people rally together to create positive change. This belief is at the heart of every organization we support and program we run. Here are several examples of the work the Bungie Foundation does:
Bungie has been a partner with Make-A-Wish since 2001 when we received our first request from a kiddo who wished to spend the day with our game developers. For over 15 years, we have continued to host studio tours for kids around the world and give them the VIP treatment. They get to re-enact scenes in our Motion Capture studio, get behind the microphone in our Foley Booth, play unreleased game content with our developers, and meet one-on-one with devs to learn the ins and outs of the gaming industry. We have since grown our partnership with Make-A-Wish's Alaska & Washington chapter to grant all electronics wish requests, from building fully customized gaming PC's with a wish kiddo to helping them transform their garage into a DJ booth!
After being introduced to staff members at Seattle Children's Hospital, we learned of the true hardships that many children face which require medical support. We knew we had to do something to help put a smile on those kids' faces using a platform we know so well: entertainment. We established the iPads for Kids Program with the goal of reducing distress and suffering in patients with fully customized, age-appropriate entertainment that allows for distraction, therapeutic play, and a sense of normalcy that is vital to creating a positive hospital experience. This one of a kind program embeds a full-time Bungie employee at the hospital to provide these devices while alleviating the workload on hospital staff, providing on-site tech support, and working flexibly with patients to customize content to their specific needs.
The Bungie Community has proven time and time again to be passionate about changing the world for the better. This is so abundantly clear through the numerous disaster relief efforts we have enlisted their support in. Most recently, we called upon them to band together in support of the people in Nepal after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake last Spring. We provided the platform, and they delivered. With our Guardians to the Aid of Nepal campaign, we sold a limited edition t-shirt on our online store and provided a digital gift with purchase for each t-shirt sold, consisting of an in-game emblem and shader for Destiny. 100% of profits from shirt sales were donated to Direct Relief and their unparalleled support following the earthquake. We worked with our manufacturing and fulfilment partners to reduce fees to generate the maximum profit. The results blew all of our expectations out of the water, all thanks to our amazing Community, who gave generously to strangers in need.
We have had the privilege of granting 55 wishes for Make-A-Wish between 1/1/2015 and 7/20/2016. Our team jumps at the chance to interact with a studio tour wish, volunteers to drive across the state to help with electronics wishes in need of installation support, and sets aside their weekends to teach a wish kid how to build a PC from scratch.
Our iPads for Kids Program has sparked interest from other hospitals across the nation, as well as other non-profit organizations. We are proud and grateful to announce a brand new partnership with Child's Play Charity, who will be supporting the growth and ongoing sustainability of the iPads for Kids Program into 4 hospitals over the next 10 years! We will be working directly with Seattle Children's Hospital to help identify those additional hospitals and to serve as the program's operational hub.
The Guardians to the Aid of Nepal campaign was the most successful fundraising event in Bungie's history. In less than 1 month, the Bungie Community raised over $1 million to be donated to Direct Relief and their commitment to support the people of Nepal after the earthquake. We are excited to join Direct Relief in August as they head to Nepal to check in on the many hospitals and clinics that benefitted from these dollars and bring back pictures and stories to share with our Community of the true impact they had in rebuilding lives in Nepal.
