ESA happily announced today that its ESA Foundation managed to raise $900,000 for children's charities at the 14th annual Nite to Unite - For Kids event, which was held on October 25. The proceeds from the sold-out gala, auction and charity casino night will be used to "improve the lives of children through grants to a wide variety of organizations" and for a college scholarship program.
“Thanks to the video game industry’s generosity, the ESA Foundation has raised more than $12 million since its founding, demonstrating the commitment of our industry’s leadership to creating opportunities for children across the country,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA. “This tremendous generosity allows the ESA Foundation to support outstanding charitable organizations that make creative use of video games to educate our children, and to help tomorrow’s innovators receive the training they need to succeed.”
Each year at the annual dinner, one of the standouts of the games business is honored. This year it was Mike Morhaime, president, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. Not only has Morhaime transformed Blizzard into a powerhouse in this industry, but he's also from worked to improve the quality of life of children with life-threatening conditions through his support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As such, Morhaime was recognized with the 2011 ESA Champion Award. He joins Microsoft’s Robbie Bach, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, Sony Computer Entertainment’s Ken Kutaragi and famed director George Lucas, among other honorees.
