Handheld video game green - Our Daily Green

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Handheld video game green

Over the summer, I wrote about the appalling amount of electronic waste in our environment. As gadgets become upgraded and obsolete, our landfills become increasingly toxic.

Two young men in New York have found a unique and heartwarming solution to the problem of hand held video games. Games For Heroes collects and sends them to our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I had the extreme honor of interviewing Peter Gallagher, one of the founders of the charity. When asked about their inspiration for the charity, Peter explained,
"Growing up here in Westchester, NY, there's a lot of hatred towards the war and unfortunately therefore lack of support for the troops. Since many of these soldiers are my age and slightly older, I felt a connection with them. Whether one supports the war or not, there should not be a lack of support for the young troops. After speaking with some troops I learned that the most requested item by them was handheld video games to kill the boredom and take their mind off the terror. I started it with my friend Jack because there wasn't a unique charity for this cause."
The full article can be read on my Examiner column. Young people like this doing something so simple and heartfelt gives me tremendous hope for the future. I hope you'll be able to help their charity this year.

Have a wonderful holiday!

1 comment :

Kass said...

What a wonderful idea! I'm going to look into it.