3 cozy gaming charities great for gamers that we personally recommend

We’re big fans of giving back to the community, especially when it comes to the gaming community. But, you’d be surprised at some of the unique (and awesome) focuses that some charities and non-profit organizations have. 

I wanted to give you all some insight into three of my favorite non-profit orgs that do some awesome work that you may not have heard of.

Take This – Destigmatizing Mental Health for gamers and developers

I’m a big fan of the idea of destigmatizing mental health. Things out there are, well, rough. 

Sure, there are some basic resources that you can cobble together from the internet. But, gamers deal with very specific things, such as toxic multiplayer games, online trolls, and coping using games. That’s what Take This is all about.

I had heard of Take This in its infancy, being a big fan of the fact that they were looking to offer resources and articles for helping both gamers and those who make games to cope with their mental health, something unique at the time for gaming charities.

Aside from that, if you’ve ever attended an event like PAX, you may have stumbled across a Take This AFK Room. They’re quiet rooms full of chairs and couches and just a calm space amidst the chaos of a convention. If you’ve ever felt the overwhelming noise at PAX (or any convention for that matter), you’d know how amazing a place to be able to take a deep breath would be.

As a full disclosure, I actually have been an Ambassador for Take This since 2020, and our website, Comfy Cozy Gaming, is now an official 2024 Ambassador, as well. It was important to be able to spread the word about mental health and what they do, and we’re always thrilled to help destigmatize that entire conversation.

You can check out Take This and all of their resources on their official website. There is a lot to look through and it’s well worth it.

AbleGamers Foundation – Bringing accessibility to gamers

The AbleGamers Foundation is something a little more near and dear to my heart from when I was young and looking for causes to support in the gaming space. Where Take This focuses on mental health, AbleGamers focuses on disabilities and how to help everyone be able to play video games.

You’ll generally find their work in less-public-facing ways. But, their influence among gaming charities is in so many video games at this point that you’d be forgiven for not realizing it’s everywhere. 

For instance, anytime you go into your game settings to change accessibility, closed captioning, button mapping, or anything that helps someone be able to play a game more easily, that’s possibly due to AbleGamers and their work.

Years ago, I developed carpal tunnel and shakes in my hands. I found myself needing a steadier, more hefty grip to be able to play games. I also never considered myself “disabled” in any way. But, through the offered resources and conversations with their leaders, I learned better ways to play and understood how to take control (in both metaphoric and physical ways).

You may have seen their work on the Microsoft Adaptive Controller, designed for PC and Xbox, that allows people to play games when they may have more trouble holding a controller. While my carpal tunnel isn’t quite that severe, it’s great to know this is a device that exists in the world and can help people who need it. For the record, I’m a big fan of the old, hefty Xbox Duke controller for this exact reason.

I highly recommend checking out the AbleGames Foundation. It’s run by passionate people for the past 20 years who want to help bring accessibility more mainstream to gamers.

Make a Wish International – Gaming charities come in a lot of forms

Everyone has heard of Make-A-Wish. It’s almost become a generic term for child-focused charities here in America. But, while it’s a big name here, Make-A-Wish International is a sorta-but-not-really separate non-profit that focuses on the rest of the world.

What does this have to do with gaming? Well, it’s unique among gaming charities because they tend to help kids the same way as the other side of Make-A-Wish, including tons of gaming.

For instance, they do the Cosy Up For Wishes event, which is dedicated to cozy games and streamers. (“Cosy” is the British way to spell Cozy, by the way). During the event, they partner with cozy streamers and creators, such as Mayor Mori and Joshua’s Gaming Garden, and have a game bundle available to raise money for their awesome charity. This year, it’ll be June 14th, 15th, and 16th. 

Oh, and for the record, the bundle for the event includes three games that we loved, including Spirit City: Lofi Sessions, Little Kitty, Big City, and March of Shrooms.

At other times during the year, Make-A-Wish International also does tabletop events, broadening the “gaming charities” term, such as Roll for Wishes. I’m a big fan of this, as an old Dungeon Master. It may not involve a cozy (or cosy) video game directly, but Dungeons and Dragons and TTRPGs can be incredibly cozy for a lot of people.

If you’d like to donate to any of the three awesome non-profit organizations and gaming charities mentioned, go directly to their respective websites and do it. For specific events, such as the Cozy Up For Wishes event, hit up their Tiltify.