We love it when people ask us questions – after all it keeps us awake in the wee hours, but there are some questions that we get asked a lot, so we’ve gathered them here into one place.
Desert Bus FAQ
Q: What exactly are you doing?
A: Put simply? We sort of invented the internet telethon by accident – you give donations to Child’s Play, and we play Desert Bus. It’s really boring and mind numbing and generally unpleasant. The more you donate the longer we play. To keep you and us amused, and to increase the donations we auction off and give away prizes, have celebrity guests stop by, and become your monkeys. Want us to sing “Still Alive?” Sure, we’ll do it for a $20 donation. We play 24 hours a day until you stop donating. Scary, isn’t it?
Q: How much money have you raised?
A: In 2oo7 we raised over $22,000; in 2008 we raised over $70,000.
Q: What is Child’s Play anyhow?
A: Child’s Play is a charity started by Tycho and Gabe of Penny Arcade to raise money for children’s hospitals to purchase toys and games – for more information see www.childsplaycharity.org.
Q: Who came up with the idea for desert bus?
A: The concept for desert bus was thought up by Paul. He is a genius, we have yet to see him ever use his gift for good. James had an idea to play Desert Bus to raise money for Child’s Play, and once he and Paul sat down to discuss it, this terrible wonderful fundraiser was born.
Q: How can you do this 24 hours a day for days and days?
A: We have four drivers who drive 4 hours at a time. This year the drivers are Bill, Jer, Morgan and James. Paul drove once and vowed he would never do it again.
Q: How does donating money work? What do you do with all that?
A: We don’t actually collect the money. It is deposited into a PayPal account that is given to Child’s Play. We never actually see the money. We’re like a street corner Santa, ringing a bell to get you to donate to the charity pot, but instead of a Santa, it’s a sleep deprived gamer, and it’s a virtual pot. Remember - Child’s Play is a registered charity, so if you live in the United States, your donations are tax deductible. You can get a tax receipt by contacting Child’s Play. We cannot give you a receipt because we do not actually handle the money.
Q: How can I help?
A: First of all, you can donate money. If you cannot do that, perhaps you can help us by spreading the word – help us make #desertbus a trending topic on Twitter, tell all your friends, watch the live stream, hang out in the chat and enjoy the show. If you have ideas about how you can help us raise even more money, contact matt@loadingreadyrun.com or kathleen@loadingreadyrun.com.