Trade-Ins for Troops launches game program
Drew Koehler, founder of the Hardcore Christian Gaming Association, has launched a site called ‘Trade-Ins for Troops’. The premise is that instead of trading your games to GameStop for $2 or trading them on Goozex for a few hundred points (minus postage), you send them to the ‘Trade -Ins for Troops’ site and they do the rest.
The website is located here, and there is some information about legalities and so on, but as far as I can tell this isn’t a full-scale charity. You are simply sending away your old games in an effort to support the troops by giving them some cool games to play during down-time.
A couple of notes:
– I don’t have any direct knowledge of the site or its’ owners, or any vested interest in the program.
– There is apparently a strong interest in handheld games.
– Whether or not you support the war or the current administration should be a separate issue from supporting the men and women who serve in the military. I would think that goes without saying, but another forum I saw this on had devolved into a war pro/con flame war.
As with anything asking you for your stuff, I would suggest you look deeper before putting anything in the mail … I know I will.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
This does seem like a cool idea. I’ve heard people say that one of the unseen enemies for modern troops is boredom.
January 21st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Sounds like a great idea. I will ask some of the people I know over there if they have heard of this.
January 21st, 2008 at 4:52 pm
GamePolitics was talking about another charity much like this set up by the wife of a Marine. The more the merrier I say. And yeah, I here the downtime is excruciating and we all know how cathartic videogame can be.
January 21st, 2008 at 5:45 pm
If I might add another suggestion. Donate them to local libraries that are starting gaming programs. At my library we accept video game donations and put them on the shelves for patrons to check out.
The library checks them out to patrons for free which means parents on a budget can have access to many different games for their kids.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:28 pm
That is a really cool idea! I know I’m also donating some of mine to our school for fundraising.
January 26th, 2008 at 9:27 am
That’s a great idea! I just shot off a note to our local library to see if they’re planning any such program. If not, maybe I’ll look into this games-for-troops thing. I don’t have many handheld games to give, but if they have a use for PS2/Xbox, I might be able to hook them up.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:43 am
hey guys I am more than happy to answer any questions u may have about this charity. I myself am in the navy and have deployed previously. I know what its like over there and yes boredom can be rough plus its hard to find things to do on ur off time. I also have a younger brother serving in the airforce currently in afghanistan. if u have any questions please email me at preacher@christian-gaming.com
January 31st, 2008 at 6:39 am
Thanks for stopping in, Drew! I applaud your efforts and wish you the best of luck!