As gaming continues to shape global culture, its impact now extends far beyond entertainment. In this interview, Make-A-Wish International‘s Charitable Gaming and Creators Community Manager, April Stalling, discusses how the organisation is partnering with the games industry to fulfil life-changing wishes for children living with critical illnesses.
Can we kindly begin with a quick intro about what Make-A-Wish International is, and its goal?
Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading wish-granting organization, dedicated to creating life-changing wish experiences for children around the world who are living with critical illnesses. Our core mission is clear – to grant the wish of every eligible child. We currently grant wishes in over 50 countries through 43 global Affiliates, working together to bring hope and joy to families around the world.
What originally drew Make-A-Wish International into the gaming space? And why do you think charity in gaming is so important?
For many of our wish children, gaming is a vital lifeline. It provides crucial distraction and relief from the roller coaster of boredom and anxiety often experienced during hospital stays. Gaming also helps to keep them connected to friends and family, particularly when they are in isolation due to treatments like chemotherapy or surgery.
Gaming wishes are the fastest-growing wish type among children around the world. The games industry ultimately creates the stories and communities that our wish children rely on for entertainment and relief. More than any other, we believe that this is one industry that can help truly reach and positively impact more children.
It’s striking to hear that gaming-related wishes have grown by 200% since 2020. What’s driving this? Is it cultural, technological, or something else?
At first, the pandemic was the catalyst for this change. Remote learning and the need for safe social interactions drove the initial growth. While the rapid growth has stabilized since then, innovations like cross-platform gaming and matchmaking have played a part in the increase in gaming-related wishes as well.
Mobile gaming itself has helped the continued interest, leading to a surge in requests from wish children for handhelds and smartphones in some regions.
Source: Make-A-Wish Türkiye
How have you seen gaming directly impact Make-A-Wish children? Beyond the fun, what role does it play in their treatment or recovery journey?
We recently completed and published research that captured the impact a wish has on children and their families. A wish provides a significant improvement to the emotional and psychological wellness of a child and their family during treatment.
92% of wish children say that their wish improved their well-being.
97% of wish children and parents say that wishes brought them joy and happiness.
And finally 98% of children and parents also said they consider a wish to be important for every child with a critical illness.
Gaming wishes are really interesting because the wish effect – or the long-term impact a wish has – is prolonged every time they turn on their new console or gaming pc. It’s the wish that keeps on giving in some ways.
What types of campaigns or partnerships have you found to be most successful or impactful?
From a fundraising perspective – the funds we need to grant wishes – we have found that the games industry is most successful in two ways: in-game activations and community challenges.
We’ve benefitted from players purchasing items to support us through their favorite games – things like the charity pet program at Blizzard for example. I think this is the area that, while it takes a lot of planning, also has a greater impact and lets a title show their community impact firsthand with their consumers.
The same goes for community challenges. Setting in-game goals that trigger donations from the developer has been a very successful model. It also helps with user acquisition and retention on the business side. But that’s not to say that these are the only options for the industry. We try to meet each business where they are and give them ideas on how to help. It’s all about scale.
What would you say to a developer or publisher who wants to “give back” but doesn’t know where to start?
It’s all about a conversation. Don’t run from a charity representative. We don’t bite, and we certainly understand the reality of the world you’re working in and with.
If you see me at a trade show or mixer, I guarantee you that a five-minute conversation – where you tell me where you’re looking for – is all it takes for us to have an idea how you can be part of and change a child’s life. And if now isn’t the right time, one day it will be. This is a long-term proposition for the industry.
You also work closely with content creators. How are they helping to lead the way in charitable gaming?
Content creators, especially those in gaming, are the new ‘celebrity’ types for many wish children and generate a lot of interest in gaming. Game companies have really helped us when a child wishes to meet their favorite gaming creator.
I can think of one situation where the team at Brawl Stars gave a child who was losing his vision the chance to play with his favorite content creators from their game. It was an unforgettable moment for him.
Also, these content creators are fundraising for us at a growing rate on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. It took us a while to get into that charitable space at a global level, but we’re there now, and that community is really starting to come through for us.
If you look three years ahead, what’s your ideal vision for charitable gaming?
My ideal vision is for no child to have to wait for their wish. I see a reliable, consistent stream of financial and in-kind support from the games industry – support that allows us to reach more countries and more children who are going through the worst time of their young lives.
I want a network of people that we can reach out to and say, “We need your help to grant wishes,” and they respond with the passion and enthusiasm that’s still there, even in their own troubled times.
The growth of these types of wishes isn’t going to stop and the growth of games isn’t going to stop. I believe in the industry and the people who create the stories the world loves. I want to give them a way to help children take control back from their illnesses and craft their own stories.
And lastly, on a personal note—how has your own love for games shaped your approach to this work?
I have been a gamer all my life – I was a first-generation gaming console player. My father owned a coin arcade in the 80’s which was heaven for a kid. I really embraced the lessons that video game characters taught us.
Adventure, courage, fun and most of all having the persistence to keep going when the princess is in another castle. ‘No’ is just an answer that you hear. It’s not a rejection of our mission – we do amazing work that gives children hope and joy. So I persist in asking for help to grant wishes. And I believe that there’s always someone who doesn’t want me to go alone and will give me the tools I need for the journey.
April Stallings
Charitable Gaming and Creators Community Manager
