Get Ready for…The Gauntlet!
Coming up on May 16, our fearless team of GeekGirlCon staffers will be taking part in the annual Seattle-area challenge: The Gauntlet!
Image source: The Gauntlet
What is the Gauntlet? It’s a 10-hour competition among teams of 4 people each, and they play tabletop games from start to finish for the honor of hoisting the Gauntlet in victory! Part of each team’s strategy involves their fundraising amounts, and bonuses for gameplay called “powerups”. Think of these as cheats or special abilities that they get to use throughout the various games to help boost their chance at winning. Powerups are based on each team’s fundraising and are earned: one at $500, one at $1000, one at $1500, one at $2500, and then one every $2500 after that. As of April 21, Team GeekGirlCon has just one powerup, but we know more are coming!
2014 Team GeekGirlCon: Kristine Hassell, Jex Ballard, Cynthia Rogers, Rose Minier
Image source: Jex Ballard
The 20 participating teams are raising money for Hopelink, a community action agency that has served homeless and low income families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities since 1971. Hopelink has food banks, support services, family development, adult education, and employment training among their many amazing programs. They serve more than 60,000 people in King County every year.
ENGAGE, the charitable giving program within Card Kingdom and Mox Boarding House, is running this contest for the second time, and this year they have doubled their space–allowing for 10 more teams to compete. GeekGirlCon is competing for the second time, with staffers Kristine Hassell, Jex Ballard, Sylvia Monreal, and Rose Minier stepping up to take the challenge.
2015’s new teammate Sylvia Monreal
Newest team member Sylvia is excited to participate in her first Gauntlet this year. “In a big city like Seattle, it’s important for us to look after our neighbors whenever we can. I’m grateful that The Gauntlet will give me a way to use my hobbies in the service of others. It’s just a wonderful opportunity to showcase a positive, fun side of nerd culture – let’s use our powers for good!”
Exactly how will the money GeekGirlCon is raising for the Gauntlet be used by Hopelink? Here’s an example of what the dollars raised can do for needy people in King County:
- $25 provides weekend food for FIVE school-aged children
- $50 provides formula for a newborn child for a month
- $100 provides hygiene products for FOUR people
- $150 provides FIFTY meals for a family of FOUR
- $250 provides financial education classes for a parent
Jex Ballard – with the adorable green hair!
Second-year teammate Jex had this to say about playing for the Gauntlet: “I’ve been involved in GeekGirlCon for 5 years now, and one of my absolute favorite memories was playing on Team GeekGirlCon in the first ever Gauntlet last year. I was shocked when our team was able to rise as the underdogs to take home 4th place! This year, I’m revved and ready to compete again at Moxtropolis! More importantly, I’m ready to hit the streets and raise some money for Hopelink! We’ve already surpassed the amount we earned last year, and I’m interested to see what kind of funds Team GeekGirlCon can bring in for this awesome cause.”
How can you contribute to GeekGirlCon’s Gauntlet team to help them earn more valuable powerups to aid them on game day? You can go to their team page on the Gauntlet website and donate any amount you want to–anonymously or not is completely up to you. To date, Kristine, Jex, Sylvia, and Rose have raised $730, which is 43% of the $1700 they’ve set as their goal! There are 24 days remaining for them to reach that goal and gain more powerups, and with the help of our strong, generous GeekGirlCon community, we KNOW they can do it.
There will also be spectator space available for the competition at Mox Boarding House in Bellevue; stop by for an hour, or stay from start to finish to support GeekGirlCon and the other teams competing for the Gauntlet! Go to the Gauntlet’s homepage for more information. We can’t wait to see you there!
Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Sarah “SG-1” Grant
[…] fourth out of twenty teams! Information about the previous years’ event can be found on our blog here and […]