AACC’s ESports club is organizing a charity event called Extra Life, a twenty-four hour gaming livestream to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The ESports club is specifically funding Johns Hopkins University Hospital, an institution which has a special meaning for one club member.

“When I was young I was a patient at Johns Hopkins,” club member Conway Johnson said. “It’s kind of important for me that I can give back a little bit in some way.”

Johnson has Crohn’s disease, a chronic disease that damages the digestive tract. His colon has been surgically removed because of it.

“Even if you’re a competitive, hardcore tournament gamer like me, a lot of what makes doing that fun is having other friends where they’re doing it with you,” Johnson said. “[Gaming] makes for a great way to bring people together.”

Johnson graduated from AACC but still helps out with the ESports club’s technical support and stream setup because of his passion for the gaming community and Extra Life.

The stream will feature video games like Super Smash Bros., DotA and League of Legends.

“[Extra Life] is a good way to learn how to play in more major events and just seeing people come together to try to raise money for these kids is really fun,” ESports club president and third-year student Johana Frank said.

“I like how [Extra Life] happens every year: we just meet up and game for twenty-four hours and we happen to raise money for charity,” forth-year music student Dallas Coleman said.

This is the event’s sixth semester at AACC, raising about one-thousand dollars each semester.

The livestream will start on Saturday, April 14 at 2 p.m. and end on Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m.

People ages 18 and older can join the livestream in CALT 100, and viewers can tune in to the club’s Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/aaccesportsclub.

edits/April. 4 6:15 p.m. -Livestream times changed from 6 a.m. due to room restraints.