RPG a Day 2016: Giving back to the community – Day 6

We don’t usually post on Saturdays here in the blog, unless something special happens, like #RPGaDay 2016! Welcome back; let’s get to what you’re here for.

August 6: What is the most amazing thing that you know a game group has done for their community?

The description in the RPG Brigade RPG a Day 2016 site says that this topic is about “acts of charity, public or private, that a group of gamers has done for people that they know.” Before reading the description, and bear with me I know I talk about this a lot but it’s not meant to be baseless self-promotion, I thought about Puerto Rico Role Players! Then I began to ponder about whether what we do constitutes an act of charity…

For those that haven’t heard about the group before let me summarize, Puerto Rico Role Players is a group of rpg aficionados (that sounds fancy!) that met through a Facebook group and actively organize and participate in activities that promote our love for role-playing games. What does this entail? We go to local fandom cons where we do game demos to teach people what rpgs are, as well as organize activities where members meet to play games and sometimes discuss topics such as GM tools and strategies. There is a social component so we also sometimes go out for a beer, and the Halloween costume party has become a tradition!

The Merriam Webster dictionary online gives the following definitions of charity:

• The act of giving money, food, or other kinds of help to people who are poor, sick, etc.; also : something (such as money or food) that is given to people who are poor, sick, etc.
• An organization that helps people who are poor, sick, etc.
• The organizations that help people in need

We could argue that we give to people that what they need the most, the gift of role-playing games! But all kidding aside, what we do is voluntary work; the members of the group donate their time, and often their money, to reproduce promotional and gaming materials. We spend weekends teaching others how to play role playing games. Personally I’ve also been invited to a local college and two schools to talk to students in behalf of the group and explain to them what rpgs are. Of course it’s something we’re passionate about, but that’s time spent away from family and loved ones, and we do it because we love this hobby and hope that through our actions we can contribute to growing the greater rpg community.

In Puerto Rico Role Player I’ve met wonderful folks and forged meaningful new friendships with an amazing and diverse group of people. When we started it was about twenty or thirty of us in a Facebook community and at one time someone told me they’d be amazed if we got to one hundred. Currently the group has over a thousand members! True not all are physically in Puerto Rico, some are friends who’ve moved to the USA, others friends of the group from other countries that have joined us. Still we’ve brought together a diverse group of gamers here in the island, and we hope to continue to do so!

Ok so what we do may not meet the dictionary definition of charity, perhaps as a group we could identify a cause outside of role playing games we’re passionate about and take action, but I believe what we do is meaningful and has had a real impact on the gaming community in Puerto Rico.

What do you think; do you agree that what we do qualifies for the topic at hand? What have you or groups you know about done for their community? I’d love to know your opinion and learn more about what gamers are doing for their communities.

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow!