38 SEPTEMBER 2020 By Kelly Richmond Families across the country spent a night without a bed in June to raise money to protect children from homelessness. This inaugural event was held virtually by Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, an organization that “rescues first-time homeless families from the streets and provides emergency shelter and basic needs in a sixty-day program designed to assist their return to self-sufficiency.” The organization worked with over 50 different congregations to help raise money. With so many families in danger of losing their homes, Family Promise of Greater Phoenix wanted to fi nd a way to show they cared about what these families are going through. “A night without a bed is a way to join them and raise money to serve more families,” Family Promise of Greater Phoenix’s Executive Director Ted Taylor said. For the event, each family member who participated chose where they wanted to sleep. That person would then ask their friends and family to sponsor them to sleep for a night without a bed. Taylor slept on his fl oor with just a blanket. “It was quite a night of experiencing what can happen when you lose your home, and you have nowhere to go,” Taylor said. Family Promise of Greater Phoenix raised around $21,000 from the event. However, it didn’t stop there. Families continued to donate money to the campaign even after the event ended, bringing in a total of over $30,000 in donations. “Night Without a Bed is going to be a permanent fixture around here,” Taylor said. Family Promise of Greater Phoenix hopes to be implementing more virtual events soon. “We are looking at innovative things that we can do in the fall,” Taylor said. Congregations across the Valley are talking about creating a virtual Halloween event. There may be costumes and story sharing through a live broadcast, allowing everyone to participate while still respecting social distancing. Money raised from these events will go to helping keep children off the streets. It costs roughly a $1,000 per child to help save families from homelessness. “It’s super important that we stand beside these children and recognize that no child should ever be without a bed,” Taylor said. “The home is your health, and health is challenging to come by without a home.” Family Promise holds virtual “without a bed” event Toni and Gaby, from Corpus Christi Catholic Church, donated 60 new pillows for the fundraiser. PHOTO COURTESY OF FAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER PHOENIX By Cliff Summerhill Over 400 gamers came together at the Extra Life Phoenix Tournament in July to raise money for the Hope Fund at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. “We’re excited and honored to support the Extra Life Phoenix event to bring awareness to Phoenix Children’s Hospital through gaming and esports,” Axis Replay CEO Allie Young said. “The work they do is so important for the Phoenix community, and we’re looking forward to what the next event will bring.” During the two-day tournament, the gamers raised $104,062 for the Hope Fund. The Hope Fund helps support the hospital’s clinical programs, purchase essential equipment, conduct new research, expand charitable care and much more. Their purpose is to ensure the hospital can serve and treat every child who needs their help. “COVID-19 has impacted nonprofit fundraising throughout the country,” Steve Schnall, senior vice president and chief development officer with Phoenix Children’s Foundation, said. Extra Life started as a small-town fundraiser for a little girl in Orange, Texas, but it soon evolved into a national tournament to raise money for sick and injured children. Gamers aged 13 and older competed July 13-19 for a spot at the final competition held in Phoenix on July 25-26. Those 432 gamers battled it out on four popular esports titles: Rocket League sponsored by Cox, Madden NFL 20 sponsored by the University of Phoenix, NBA 2K20 and Fortnite. The winners of the competition won cash prizes and played with Twitch celebrities like Markygooda, Dazerin and Satthew. Twitch is an online service that allows video gamers to digitally stream themselves as they play their favorite video games in real-time. For the winners of this tournament, the ability to play with their idols is paramount. “This unique event allowed the public to have a good time safely from their home while benefitting the work at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which does not stop during a pandemic. We are most grateful,” Schnall said. In addition to the tournament’s competitors and popular Twitch streamers, the online fundraiser also featured two-time Super Bowl champion Tyrone Poole and famous sportscaster Larry Ridley. They were cast members of the Madden NFL video game series. Phoenix Children’s Hospital is looking to host another esports event in November 2020. They plan to make Extra Life an annual event to help bring more awareness to its Phoenix Children’s Foundation Hope Fund project. For more: extra-life.org or phoenixchildrensfoundation.org/signature/extra-life E-tournament raises money for Phoenix Children’s Hospital Since its inception in 2008, Extra Life has raised over $70 million for afflicted children across the country. The tournament recently raised over $100,000 for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. PHOTO COURTESY OF EXTRA LIFE

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