Gamers vs Cancer East announces its first-ever fundraising convention on behalf of the American Cancer Society

Update: Gamers vs Cancer East have announced a change of plans. The tournament will now take place online.

“Even though the plans have changed, the mission is still the same. Our goal is to create an entertaining event and help those in need while doing so" said Jatovi McDuffie, owner of Bull City Gaming and volunteer chair of Gamers vs. Cancer East. The event on April 9th will be a fun interactive experience we hope you will enjoy and utilize to join the fight vs cancer."

Featuring Rocket League matches, the tournament will stream live on Twitch and feature a $5,000 prize pool.

Original Article follows:

When the gaming community comes together for a good cause, it’s always a cause for celebration. And that’s no different with the announcement of Gamers vs Cancer East’s first gaming convention.

From April 8th-10th, Gamers vs Cancer East will head to the Herb Young Community Center in Cary, North Carolina, for three days of tournaments, exhibitions, showcases, comedy, music, and general gaming, all for a great cause.

"Gaming is more than just sitting in front of a screen and pushing buttons. Gaming is about hanging out with friends, dancing, meeting new people with the same interests, living life, etc," said Tracey Smith, Senior Development Manager for the American Cancer Society. "We wanted to create an event that focuses on the various parts of the gaming culture and bring people together for an enjoyable time."

The Gamers vs Cancer East Convention will raise money to fight cancer through:

The event, hosted in association with Bull City Gaming, Lenovo Esports, the Town of Cary, and Epic Games will see all funds go towards combating health inequality on behalf of the American Cancer Society. And it will all be broadcast live on Twitch.

But it’s more than just tournaments and games. The Gamers vs Cancer East convention will also feature educational panels, gaming personalities, and talks from women in tech and black creatives in the gaming space.

The gaming personalities include Esports Hall of Famer Chris “Puckett” Puckett, esports host and commentator Alex “Axeltoss” Rodriguez, game director Greg Mitchell (Gears of War), animator Jay Hosfelt (Paragon, Fortnite), professional Rocket League caster Jack “Corelli” Collier and gaming community TheDadGaming.

In addition, special guest panelists from Cisco, SingleStore, Citrix, 4th Wall Comics, and Epic Games will feature.

Gamers vs. Cancer East is set to highlight and raise money for one of the most overlooked aspects of cancer treatment: Healthcare inequality. “Health equity is a core driver for our mission,” said Daniel Widner, Vice President of Gamers vs. Cancer, talking about the event’s mission. “It is a disease that can affect anyone, but it does not affect everyone equally.”

Cancer is indiscriminate. But because of socioeconomic inequality, Black and other marginalized populations are disparately impacted by the disease. Structural obstacles make it far more difficult for them to have access to cancer prevention, detection, and treatment services.

Widner expanded on how the event’s parent organization, the American Cancer Society, battled this health equity deficit: “These issues help guide us daily in every initiative we undertake. From providing rides to treatment locally to advocating for access to health care nationwide.” 

In the past, gaming-based charity events have raised vast amounts of money for Cancer charities. For example, Awesome Games Done Quick has since 2011 raised money for the Prevent Cancer foundation, frequently raising millions of dollars.

"Cancer affects everyone, but it doesn’t affect everyone equally," said Tracey Smith, Senior Development Manager for the American Cancer Society.

"While innovations in cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship have come a long way, not everyone has benefited equally, Research shows that while overall cancer mortality rates in the US are dropping, populations that are marginalized are bearing a disproportionate burden of cancer.

"If we are to further reduce deaths from cancer and achieve our mortality goal of reducing cancer by 40 % by 2035, we need to make sure everyone has the ability to benefit from the advances in prevention and treatment of cancer."

The American Cancer Society's Tracy Smith went on to say that all of the American Cancer Society's work is through the lens of health equity.

"We just awarded over $16 million in grants to establish Cancer Health Equity Research Centers at Minority Serving Institutions. We are working with healthcare programs around the country to increase cancer screening rates in underserved populations. We're continuing our work to expand Medicaid. And we have initiatives to provide free transportation to appointments to improve access to care."

Returning to the gaming, one of the event’s star attractions is definitely the Rocket League tournament. It’s a 3v3 tournament starting at 12:30pm, Saturday, April 9th, and is open to all ages. There are 64-slots that can be pre-registered for on the Gamers vs Cancer East website. As well as a portion of the $5000 prize pool, the winners will also play an exhibition against the Charlotte Phoenix RL Team, including Alraz, Beastaboniam, and Delta.

The final 16 of the Rocket League tournament on Sunday, April 10th, will broadcast live on Twitch, with the duo of MakDewey and Somebodysgun as casters. The convention’s stream is co-produced by Bull City Gaming and the American Cancer Society.

"As a large entity, you can easily miss where the heart and soul of true gaming is and that is why understanding gaming at the grassroots level is important," said Tracey Smith, Senior Development Manager for the American Cancer Society. 

"Working with a smaller organization such as Bull City Gaming who has been in the field for years now, it helps us understand the culture surrounding gaming better and those within the gaming world understand our cause."

In the case of Rocket League not being your thing, Brawlhalla, Fortnite, and Arcade cabinet events are all on offer. And that’s before you consider the special guests, panels, Friday night comedy show, and Saturday night dance party. So overall, it makes the $55 weekend pass a bit of a no-brainer. But there are also single-day tickets available if you prefer. 

For more info about the event, check out the official Gamers vs Cancer website, or join the official Discord. And even if you can’t make it, tune in to the official stream on Bull City Gaming’s Twitch stream.