GRAPEVINE, Texas, Aug. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avid Pokémon fan, 15-year-old Make-A-Wish® kid Becca has dreamed of visiting the Pokémon headquarters in Japan since she was a little girl. Today, in front of more than 3,600 GameStop store managers, at the company’s annual conference in Nashville, Tenn., Becca was told her wish is coming true. Becca’s wish reveal serves as the kick-off for GameStop’s annual fundraising campaign benefiting Make-A-Wish, which runs from August 28 - September 30 in stores nationwide and on gamestop.com. Funds raised during the campaign will help grant wishes for children battling critical illnesses, like Becca, during their greatest time of need.
This year’s in-store donation campaign represents the 12th year of GameStop's financial support for Make-A-Wish, and comes on the heels of GameStop achieving its goal set four years ago to increase its overall charitable impact on the community by raising $20 million for various charities by 2020.
“Today has been a day of good news. We not only told Becca her wish to go to the Pokémon headquarters is coming true, but we also shared with our associates that we have raised $20 million for charitable causes four months earlier than planned and will continue to give back,” said Frank Hamlin, executive vice president and chief customer officer for GameStop. “We are going to raise as much as we can together to help Make-A-Wish fulfill life-changing wishes.”
GameStop invites customers to donate $1, $5, $10, or “round up” their total bill at checkout at all GameStop store locations. GameStop will also be offering triple PowerUp rewards points for those who donate at checkout.
With 12 years of support, $7 million raised and nearly 3,600 wishes granted, the Make-A-Wish and GameStop partnership and campaign activations continue to be a ‘game-changer’ for fighters like Becca.
“Our entire family is grateful for all of the support Make-A-Wish has given Becca during her treatment,” said Becca’s mom, Betsy Burns. “Knowing that Make-A-Wish has partners like GameStop who help make sure kids like Becca can have their wish is a reminder of how many people are involved in granting wishes. We are excited to share Becca’s wish with GameStop’s employees at their annual conference.”
“Over the past 12 years, GameStop has granted nearly 3,600 wishes in partnership with Make-A-Wish,” said Richard K. Davis, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “We know that the power of a wish can help a child build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. We’re grateful for partners like GameStop that make granting more wishes possible through campaigns like this.”
Through the GameStop program, Wish Power, we are taking our wish-granting efforts to the next level by ensuring even more Make-A-Wish children receive epic gaming wishes. There are an estimated 27,000 children who may be eligible for a wish each year. Unfortunately, Make-A-Wish is currently only able to grant half of these. The good news. Customer donations can close this gap! Every donation helps create life-changing wishes and helps Make-A-Wish get closer to fulfilling wishes for all eligible children. Anyone can be a hero for these fearless kids by donating: during checkout in-store, in the PowerUp Rewards Center, or by donating during charity streams in support of Make-A-Wish.
About GameStop
GameStop Corp., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, is a global, multichannel video game and consumer electronics retailer. GameStop operates over 5,700 stores across 14 countries. The company's consumer product network also includes www.gamestop.com and Game Informer® magazine, the world's leading print and digital video game publication.
General information about GameStop Corp. can be obtained at the company’s corporate website. Follow @GameStop and @GameStopCorp on Twitter and find GameStop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GameStop.
Make-A-Wish America
Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We seek to bring every eligible child's wish to life because a wish is an integral part of a child's treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight their illness. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in the United States and in more than 50 countries worldwide. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and nearly 40,000 volunteers across the U.S., grant a wish every 34 minutes, on average, somewhere in the country. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 315,000 wishes to children in the U.S. and its territories; more than 15,600 in 2018 alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org.
GameStop
Martha Sotelo
(817) 424-2099
MarthaSotelo@gamestop.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5422d053-784f-49b9-97d2-8f0e5a733fb5