Innovations in Health Reform Updates - The Children's Partnership

Wendy Lazarus on Social Gaming and Child Poverty

Huffington Post

As gaming becomes more social, it is expanding into parts of society once seen as untouched by video games. The largest of these groups is women, who make up 55 percent of social gamers on average. Women are also more likely than men to make charitable contributions, care about youth-related causes, and purchase virtual goods in social games.

The kinds of in-game donations and virtual goods that helped fund disaster relief in Haiti and Japan are a natural next step for helping our own children. The potential is enormous for both gaming companies and children. In 2011, the virtual goods industry saw $2.3 billion in US sales. In a market that big, there is certainly room for many causes. The Children's Partnership is working to make sure that child poverty is one of them.

Download the full article.

Terms:Blog, Internet and 21st Century Skills, Press Clips, Wendy Lazarus

TCP Gaming Paper Encourages Gaming Industry Towards Philanthropy

The Washington Post

An article highlighting the VirtuallyGood4Kids (VG4K) inititative encouraging the gaming "industry to provide parents and their kids with more opportunities to direct the money they spend on virtual purchases toward fundraising causes."

Learn more about VirtuallyGood4Kids.

Terms:Digital Opportunity, Internet and 21st Century Skills, Parents, Press Clips

Study Cites Opportunities for Social Gaming to Improve Kids' Lives

The Children’s Partnership released Can Game Companies Help America’s Children?, the result of a yearlong study of the $24.75 billion digital game industry and its current—and potential—participation in cause partnership efforts. The report provides a focused look at the demographics of gamers, trends in social gaming and virtual goods, and the potential of cause partnerships to benefit child health and education.

“At a time when US children are suffering more than at any time since the Great Depression, game companies can—and should—be at the forefront of a high-impact form of philanthropy that benefits their bottom line while also improving children’s health and success in school,” said Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children’s Partnership and lead author of the report in a full press release.

Terms:Internet and 21st Century Skills, Press Release

Can Game Companies Help America's Children?

By Wendy Lazarus | September 2012

VG4KBriefingDocIndustryCOVERSep17Final The report includes the results of a yearlong study of the $25.1 billion digital game industry and provides a focused look at the demographics of gamers, trends in social gaming and virtual goods, and the potential of cause partnerships to benefit child health and education.