With 84 bids down and seven days of auctioning left as I write this, a limited edition Xbox 360 which celebrates the release of The Beatles Rock Band is selling for $7,400 on Ebay.

The sale of the beautifully customized console will benefit Doctors Without Borders. From the auction listing:

Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison personally selected the charity as the beneficiary of these proceeds.

Kotaku reports that the charitable auction is the first in a series.

If the console auction is too rich for your blood, purchasing the DLC bonus track All You Need is Love on Xbox Live (about $2) will help out Doctors Without Borders as well. All proceeds go to the charity an purchasers will be entered into a context to win one of the limited edition consoles as well as a
Rickenbacker 325 replica guitar controller.
 

If you've got games that you're not using anymore, don't leave them to collect dust on a shelf. Donate them instead.

Pixel Equity, a new not-for-profit matches donated games and systems up with economically disadvantaged kids. From the organization's website:

Video gaming is a fun and enriching activity, but it remains out of reach for many. Games cost upwards of $50 and consoles cost hundreds, so it’s no surprise that large groups of young people who are interested in playing never get the chance.

No games to send? Pixel Equity will also accept cash donations, no matter how small. That part is kind of sweet because you can actually see how your donation will help reach the amount needed to buy a specific game requested by a child (see pic at left).

There's also a bit of game-oriented fun built into the donation system:

Since this is an organization about video games, we thought that we would make a game out of giving. Every contribution you make will help you gain levels. Each level corresponds to an image of a game archetype, including warriors, clerics, mages, and more, that you will be able to post on your facebook profile by using our facebook app (app coming soon!). Show your friends that you’re making a difference!

Via: Kotaku

In April the United States was stunned by the news of a shooting rampage at the offices of the American Civic Association in Binghampton, New York. During the horrific incident 41-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Jiverly Wong killed 13 people and wounded several more before turning his weapon on himself.

Central New York station News 10 reports that children at a local middle school held a Rock Band tournament last Friday to benefit two children who lost both parents in the ACA shooting. The children of victims Marc and Marie Bernard will attend the Maine-Endwell Middle School in the fall. Tom Burkhardt, who organized the fundraiser told News 10:

We learned about these two children that lost both their parents and knew that they were gonna be coming to our school next year. And basically, the teachers and the staff wanted to do something, we were wondering what we could do, and we thought of this.

Local businesses donated prizes for the tournament.

A start-up charitable foundation is seeking your used games.

Donate Games is focusing its efforts on orphan diseases - debilitating, often fatal, but frequently overlooked because they affect only a small slice (less than .05%) of the global population.

How can used games help? A press release explains that Donate Games will re-sell the games it takes in:

Are you tired of trading in your used games at retail stores for pennies on the dollar? Are you looking for a new site to purchase used games at low prices? Do you want to help change the lives of people around the world?...

 

Donate Games is a new charity dedicated to funding research for orphan diseases and supporting those affected by them through the donation and resale of used video games. In addition to raising funds for research on these rare disorders, Donate Games will promote awareness and provide advisory services to the general public.

Donate Games was created by Jim Carol, described as a veteran of the IT industry, and his wife Cynthia. In 2006 their son was diagnosed with Philadelphia Chromosome, a rare form of leukemia. Although their son's disease is now in remission, the Carols were moved by the suffering they saw:

We were lucky. “Treatments and community support really made a difference for [our son]. But, we met others at the treatment centers that had little hope, suffering from even rarer life-threatening conditions, without research funding, effective treatments or support networks. By launching Donate Games and connecting with the vibrant gaming community so near and dear to my own professional background, now we can help them, too.”

The organization is currently accepting game donations but has not yet begun to re-sell. Penny Arcade's Child's Play and publisher Electronic Arts are listed as partner organizations.

Joystiq reports that Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity raised an amazing $1.4 million for sick children during its recent fund drive:

The annual Child's Play charity fund is known for accumulating outlandish quantities of money from the gaming community -- this year was no exception. Button-mashing altruists not only met the charity's lofty $750,000 goal, they nearly doubled it, bringing in a total of $1,434,377...

...generous gamers surpassed last year's impressive $1.3 million haul (and in the middle of a recession, no less)...

This week's Child's Play Charity Auction Dinner raised more than $200,000 for worthy causes, reports Gabe of Penny Arcade.

Among the items auctioned off was the rather impressive statue at left depicting an Orc from World of Warcraft on his mount.

Simply awesome - both the event and the statue...

Comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun has launched its second annual Desert Bus for Hope charity drive.

The gimmick here is that LRR members control the annoyingly monotonous Desert Bus simulator continuously as long as their mostly gamer audience continues to make donations.

A live stream shows the "drivers" at work (see pic). The game is reportedly part of the never-released Penn & Teller's Smoke & Mirrors, originally intended for the Sega CD system.

As a bonus, none other than actor Wil Wheaton (he's an ECA member!) will be checking in with the Desert Bus crew later today.

What They Play has a detailed explanation of the diabolical way in which the Desert Bus fundraiser works:

Viewers are asked to donate money via the Desert Bus website, and as the dollar total rises, so does the length of time the team must continue driving the bus... In order to limit the event to a few days, each additional hour costs more in donations than the previous hour did, until they become prohibitively expensive.

 

Despite this limitation, though, last year’s event ran 108 hours long. Viewers are encouraged to participate by e-mail, or by live internet chat, where they can ask questions of the crew, make requests, and become an active participant.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Penny Arcade has kicked off the 2008 campaign for its amazing Child's Play charity, and Chris Morris at Forbes serves up some history detailing how the PA guys popularized the concept of gamers giving back:

It's funny what a little righteous anger can do. Five years ago, Mike Krahulik, co-founder of the popular Penny Arcade Web site, read yet another editorial decrying video games as tools of violence that desensitized America's youth.

To combat the bad press, he and partner Jerry Holkins decided to launch a charity drive that encouraged readers to send them games or cash, and they would pass the donations to Seattle's Children's Hospital...

They ended up receiving $225,000 in video game and toy donations, along with another $26,000 in cash... To date, Child's Play has raised over $3.5 million in cash and toy donations. The charity has gone from improvised effort to nonprofit organization. And recipient hospitals have grown from one to 40.

GP: What an outstanding thing to do. While there are a number of other gamer-centric charitable efforts, it's fair to say that Child's Play sets the standard.

That's why it's so unbelievable that in 2005 Jack Thompson tried to have the Penny Arcade guys arrested.

As we look forward to Veteran's Day tomorrow, we're reminded that serving with the military in Iraq or Afghanistan must be very difficult, indeed. Our troops face constant danger and are far removed from their families and the things they enjoyed at home.

But a Philadelphia-area woman, Stefanie Doctor Shea, works hard to bring at least one of the comforts of home to the front lines: video games.

As GamePolitics first reported on Veteran's Day, 2007, Stefanie takes a very personal interest in how our military personnel are faring overseas. That's because her husband, Sgt. Michael Shea, spent the last year with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq before returning home recently (Stefanie and Michael are pictured at left).

But while Stefanie's hubby may be back, the nonprofit organization she founded, Fun For Our Troops, is still engaged in its mission. A just-issued press release offers Stefanie's thoughts:

In our first year we were able to provide gaming relief to over 200 deployed troops and several Morale, Wellness, and Recreation (MWR) stations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We hope to continue the momentum this Veteran’s Day and in 2009.

SPC Joseph Burris adds:

As a soldier, I just wanted to say thanks for Fun for Our Troops. Words cannot describe the feelings I get when I see people like you selflessly donate time, money, and energy just to make our lives a little better. Something as simple as a videogame can mean a lot to a soldier who has nothing more to look forward to than another dusty day on convoy.

The Sheas are gamers themselves. While waiting for Michael to be deployed last fall, the couple spent a good deal of time playing the Wii. Stefanie attended PAX for the first time in August of this year.

Fun for our Troops is seeking tax-deductible donations of new or gently used game systems, video games, PC games or MP3 players as well as gift cards for distributors of games and gaming systems. The organization can also make use of monetary donations which are used primarily toward shipping costs and purchasing used gaming systems.  

Donations can be sent to:

Fun for our Troops, Inc.
506 Corporate Drive West
Langhorne, PA 19047

...or via PayPal.

Last month GamePolitics covered Sarcastic Gamer's Extra Life marathon, a charity event held for the benefit of Texas Children's Hospital.

Despite tough economic times, Sarcastic Gamer now reports that gamers came through in a huge way, with $115,000 raised. A joint press release issued by the hospital and the website gives more details:

Thanks to your support, over $115,000 was raised to fight pediatric cancer.  The funds raised will help provide critical dollars for research in childhood cancer as well as provide support to the families and patients being treated at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.  And hopefully everyone had fun at the same time!

The ESA Foundation, the charitable arm of video game publishers trade group the Entertainment Software Association, announced this week that it raised $750,000 for various children's charities at the organization's annual Nite to Unite.

The sold-out event was held on October 22nd in San Francisco. Legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto (left) was honored with the 2009 ESA Champion Award.

ESA CEO Michael Gallagher commented on the spirit behind Nite to Unite:

The video game industry’s commitment to giving back is stronger than ever. For ten years now, Nite to Unite has been the premiere industry event dedicated to children’s causes and honoring its creative visionaries. I’m honored that so many distinguished individuals and organizations attended.

Destructoid Editor Jim Sterling hopes to raise $5,000 for charity for Sarcastic Gamer's upcoming Extra Life marathon, and he's offering a bonus if he does.

Sterling promises that if he reaches his goal, he will play SingStar, Sony's popular karaoke game, for 24 hours straight and do it live on the web. From his post:

Just think about this for a moment. That's twenty-four hours of singing. If we exceed $5000 by a significant amount, I'll even take requests. You might be able to force me to sing Total Eclipse of the Heart for an entire hour...

 

Think about it -- I might die. If you want to be able to tell your grandkids that technically you killed Jim Sterling, then give, give, give and make your dreams a reality. 
 

The Extra Life marathon takes place on October 18th. From Sarcastic Gamer's website:

On Saturday October 18th, 2008 gamers from around the world will come together for 24 hours to raise money and awareness for the cause of pediatric cancer.  Cancer is the number one cause of non-accidental death in children.  Together, we’re going to stand with the families from around the world who come to Texas Children’s Cancer Center in Houston, Texas for lifesaving treatment.  Texas Children’s Cancer Center serves kids worldwide regardless of their family’s ability to pay.  This generous philosophy means that your support is crucial to ensuring not only the development of new cutting edge cures, but also to provide care to kids from all corners of the globe.

GP: It's gonna be like a train wreck. I know I should look away, but... Anyway, I've signed up. Anyone else in? Click here to make a pledge.