Partner: Oakland County Gamers
Oakland County Gamers, Inc. (OCG) is a charitable organization devoted to helping all people make connections within their communities. OCG’s goal is to motivate, connect, and mobilize individuals to support and grow local charity together. They create an inclusive and welcoming environment for gaming, and volunteer opportunities for members to support and raise funds for local charities. Each of their monthly gaming events are volunteer run and 100% free to attend.
Why do you come to U-Con? “U-Con provides an amazing way for OCG to showcase how our volunteers facilitate learning and to build awareness of our mission within the gaming community. Please join any of our events to learn more about how you can make a difference by simply enjoying your hobby! U-Con is one of the largest gaming conventions within our locale. It provides us with a platform to teach games, contribute to a worthy cause, and to increase awareness of our own charitable endeavors.”
After establishing a family and career, our founder Joe Brown found it challenging to locate people to game with and organized our first Meetup. Over 25 people attended and many shared their own challenging stories of seeking an inclusive and welcoming group to learn new games with. Joe’s wife, Christina, was new to gaming, and it was important to both that if they were going to continue organizing events, creating a safe and friendly environment for everyone was a priority.
As the monthly group events grew from 25 to over 80 people, a leadership team was formed to help manage everything. Inclusivity, a welcoming environment, and a coordinated effort to teach new gamers became our mission. Event attendees were greeted at the welcome table and provided with name tags. And OCG volunteers were required to know how to teach entry level games and introduced newcomers to regular attendees and encouraged them to join in the fun and socialize.
After a year of observing the impact our efforts yielded and recognizing the wider implications, Oakland County Gamers formed a Board of Directors and incorporated into a 501c3 charitable organization. We quickly partnered with our first local charity, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2269, which now hosts our monthly 2nd Saturday DAY OF GAMES event. Almost 3 years after incorporating, OCG raises funds and provides volunteers for more than 6 local charities including the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Michigan, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and a new adopted local charity every year.
Where to find more info on OCG prior to U-Con:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/OCGamers/
https://www.meetup.com/OCGamers/
https://twitter.com/O_C_Gamers/
https://www.instagram.com/oaklandcountygamers/
Email: oaklandcountygamers@gmail.com