The worlds of literature and gaming will collide on October 10-13, when a group of Seattle-based gamers led by YouTube Let’s Player Philip Gerou host Tales for Tales, a charity game marathon and online auction to benefit First Book Seattle, a nonprofit dedicated to getting books to underprivileged kids in King County, Washington.
The Tales for Tales team will play Tales of Symphonia, a Japanese role-playing video game, for approximately three days non-stop, all in front of live stream cameras. During the marathon, over thirty items will go up for auction, including art prints by Seattle artist Justin Hillgrove, signed books by fantasy writers Patrick Rothfuss and Terry Brooks, and games from online game portal Curse. The Tales for Tales team are aiming to raise $20,000 this first year, an ambitious goal that, if successful, would purchase approximately 8,000 brand new books for underprivileged children in King County.
Gerou, who is leading the fundraising initiative alongside fellow Let’s Players and live streamers Solon Scott, Mike Pfeifer, James Hearn and Rachel Raymond, has always believed in the power of fiction.
“The reason I’m putting on Tales for Tales and raising money for First Book-Seattle is I heard about [the organization] and how many children grow up without access to age-appropriate books just seemed wrong,” he said, “So I figured I would combine my love of video games with my love of books and put on a charity live stream to raise money and to help spread awareness.”
All the money raised will go to First Book-Seattle, which promotes literacy and book ownership among children by raising funds to provide new books to kids living below the poverty line. First Book-Seattle is unique as it works to provide funds for new books directly to teachers and program administrator who ensure that children are receiving books that will be the most impactful for them.
To participate or watch the event, you can live stream and browse the auction items by visiting tales-for-tales.org from October 10-13.
