Over £211k raised by world’s biggest annual video game event for children’s assistive tech charity

Children’s assistive technology charity Lifelites was chosen as a partner for the world’s biggest games charity event, Jingle Jam 2021.

Since its inception in 2011, Jingle Jam has raised over $20 million for charitable projects, including over £211,000 raised for the work of Lifelites.

Thanks to support from Jingle Jam, Lifelites will be able to donate assistive technology to give life-limited and disabled children using children’s hospices across the British Isles a chance to do things they and their parents never thought possible; enabling them to play, be creative, control something for themselves and communicate, for as long as possible.

These children will have the chance to escape the confines of their conditions, communicate their wishes and fears and connect with their loved ones, something that has proven especially difficult throughout the COVIDd-19 pandemic. In some cases, they will be able to tell their mum that they love her for the very first time, even if the only part of their body they can move is their eyes.

Simone Enefer-Doy, Chief Executive of Lifelites, said: “We are so grateful to have been part of Jingle Jam 2021 and amazed by the amount raised. It will help us to do even more for life-limited and disabled children.

“A package of magical technology for one children’s hospice costs Lifelites around £50,000 over its four year life cycle and includes all the special technology, training for hospice staff on how to get the most out of it with the children that they work with and technical support to keep it all in good working order for these children for whom every second counts.”

Lifelites has developed its own Interactive Entertainment Hub, which is a mobile unit packed full of assistive gaming technology, including the Xbox Adaptive Controller. This controller is the first mainstream controller designed specifically for people with disabilities, allowing the children Lifelites supports to be able to game, often for the first time.

Simone added: “Our Interactive Entertainment Hubs can go wherever the child is in the hospice, even if they can’t get out of bed. It gives them the chance to be in control and enjoy themselves, irrespective of their conditions.”

Rich Keith, CEO of Fourth Floor and one of the organisers of Jingle Jam, commented: “Jingle Jam is so happy to be supporting Lifelites. Games are an amazing medium and Lifelites’ work allows children who wouldn’t normally be able to access games to play along like anyone else, this is a truly amazing thing. Their work changes lives for children with life-limiting conditions and their families which is why we were so pleased to help raise funds for them.”

Lifelites recently donated an assistive technology package to the Little Bridge House children’s hospice. Part of this package, worth tens of thousands of pounds, included the portable Tech Trunk, which allows children and young people to access fun games and go on virtual reality (VR) adventures.