We’ve met some pretty cool people over time while dabbling in the videogame world. In the Facebook group (JPAG) that spawned this very website we’ve even formed some pretty good friendships and made some good drinking buddies. From time to time we also see fit to help each other out.
This is one of those times. Our good buddy and compatriot, Wesley “WeJo” Johnson, has had some bad luck befall him recently. His insurance company is unable to cover a considerable portion of his recent gum graft surgery, and the humble Wes is having a difficult time covering the cost.
That’s where we (and you) come in. On January 1st, 2010 (that’s this week!) the collective family that is the Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group (JPAG) of Facebook fame will be holding a special live fundraiser online. By purchasing $5 raffle tickets between now and during the show, winners will receive all manner of swag: great gaming packages, art, music, video collections, etc. (We’ve posted the full list after the break.) Or if you’d rather just donate any sum, that would work as well (and be just as appreciated).
Help us achieve our goal and help Wesley!
[Click here to go to the official Facebook event page]
[Click here to donate directly to the fund]
Dear Friends,
From time to time we band together to do good. We have done so in the past; witness the rescue funding drummed up for Daniel Orta’s PS3 repair, led by the charitably minded Alex Raymond.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a real need on our hands now, and one that with 2800 members could be small potatoes for us but could have a big impact for one Mr. Wesley “Gumbo” Johnson.
If you’ve been under a rock or similar, you might not know that Wes just had a massive gum graft operation. You also might not know that this operation put a MASSIVE dent in his life, because
1) His gums deteriorated as a result of his die-uh-beetus;
2) Because of #1, the GDIC* refused to pay a whit of the $7000 in expenses incurred.That means he’s shelling it out all by his lonesome. It’s infuriating to me that he would have been covered by insurance if some idiot had hit him in the face with a baseball, and that he isn’t because this is apparently a natural effect of a pre-existing condition.
And so, it is with tremendous pride and a certain degree of terror that I announce New Gums Day: a Fundraising Event for Wesley Johnson.
On January 1st, from 2 PM to 6 PM US Central Time, we will host a live JPAG podcastravaganza, featuring guest appearances, fabulous prizes, and live call-ins! A donation link will be readily available for all y’all as feel the desire and need to help out a brother.
Yeah, that’s right: I said PRIZES. The details follow.
Raffle items [subject to change]
Thanks to all the item donations (source after each)
*= pictured belowGrand Prizes (Chosen in order based on number raffle. Every $5 donated before or during the show = 1 raffle entry)
360 Package 1: Mass Effect (Jonah Gregory), Ninja Blade (Allan Brown), Forza Motorsport 3 [w/custom-designed cover]* (Richard Mitchell), The Darkness & Rainbow Six Vegas* (Jonathan Kehoe)
360 Swag Pack: Ninja Blade & XL Fairytale Fights T-shirt* & The Saboteur replica 1941 Zippo lighter* (Richard Mitchell), Tekken 6 Limited Edition w/Arcade Stick (Tony Mika)
Music Hero Package: Band Hero (game only)* & 2 Med DJ Hero T-shirts* (Richard Mitchell), custom album cover designed by Justin Russo [http://justindavidrusso.blogspot.com/]; signed copy of Mode7 Main Finger, newly announced winner of the Capcom Dark Void Remix contest; coupon for a Main Finger T-Shirt (the keytar/sickle design on black); Main Finger stickers and Noise and a Beat (MF side project) stickers (Jesse Gregory)
PS3 Package: Uncharted (Allan Brown), Bioshock (Tony Mika), Hellboy & Constantine Blu-rays (Jarret Green), signed Resistance 2 poster from Insomniac Games studio (Daniel “DJ” Orta)*
Capital Records Package: Pet Shop Boys , Yes & Beastie Boys , Hello Nasty Remastered Edition [CD]; Beastie Boys , Paul’s Boutique 20th Anniversary Edition & Check Your Head Remastered Edition, Lolene , Sexy People, Radiohead , Amnesiac, Red Hot Chili Peppers , Freaky Style & The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, Yelle , Pop Up & Ce Jeu, Van Morrison , Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl [Vinyl]; Moby , Wait for me. [White Vinyl & CD]* (Andrew Coats)
The Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group Podcast Joystick: a scratch-built joystick with Sanwa joystick and buttons, wired for Xbox 360 use (Randall Smith)*
Hourly Raffles (Drawn from donations during that hour. Each $5 donated = 1 entry.)
360 Kids Package: Monster vs Aliens & Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs* (Richard Mitchell), Lego Indiana Jones & KungFu Panda (Jared Jackson)*, one-of-a-kind stuffed figure from Takahashi’s Daily Tofu* [http://www.thedailytofu.com] (Trey Takahashi)
360 Movie Package: Lord of the Rings Conquest & Watchmen the End is Nigh (Tony Mika), Various DVDs* (Jared Jackson)
DS Package: Henry Hatsworth & Retro Game Challenge (Allan Brown)
Wii Package: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles & Scarface: The World is Yours & Blastworks* (Jonathan Kehoe)
Retro Package: Custom Sega Genesis—You pick the housing! (Nick Coffman), Chrono Trigger [SNES Japanese version]* & E.T. [Atari]* (Grant Walker), Sega Game Gear system [with AC adapter] & 5 games: Sonic Chaos, FIFA International Soccer, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Super Columns, Sonic and Tails 2* (Jonathan Kehoe)
Here There Be Robots Package: Here There Be Robots Volume 1: Marooned (140 page, black and white comic, collecting issues 1-3 & mini-comic, as well as bonus content) & coupon for Here There Be Robots 3-Skull T-Shirt (Jonah Gregory)
Artist Package: a 20″x30″ caricature and a papercraft rendition of the raffle winner [see the end of Randall’s SS video for example: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=217745224791&oid=8702785815] (Dalibor Dimovski)
Thank-you gifts (multiple items for [hopefully] all donators)
1” video-game and/or Joystiq-themed buttons made by Mike Wall*
Main Finger / Noise and a Beat stickers“Unconfirmed” prizes:
Custom-recorded autotuned song in your honor, written and performed by Justin McElroy
A guest spot on a future episode of the Joystiq Podcast
Matt M glossies
Steam games, Live/PSN codes during the show
So mark your calendars, peeps! This is going to be all kinds of fun, and all for a cause that will have immediate and lasting impact on one of our own.
-Randall
*God-Damned Insurance Company
Donation email: jpaganimalrescue@gmail.com (or hit the PayPal link above)
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