The Extra Life Origin Story 

Extra Life is a nationwide movement bringing together people who share a love of video, console, and tabletop games and cosplaying to raise funds and awareness for 170 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals across the country. Extra Life was started in 2008 in way of honoring Victoria Enmon, a patient at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas. Tori’s battle against acute lymphoblastic leukemia inspired the Sarcastic Gamer Community in a way that is difficult to describe. Members sent in video games and bought gifts to keep Tori’s spirits up despite numerous hospital stays and three bouts with the deadly disease. Tragically, we lost Tori to cancer in January 2008. Later that year Extra Life founder, Jeromy Adams, asked his partners at Sarcastic Gamer if they would be interested in Extra Life, a 24-hour video game marathon to raise money for the hospital that treated and fought beside Tori. In 2008 and 2009 Extra Life raised a combined $302,000, 100 percent of which went directly to help kids like Tori at their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital (Texas Children’s Hospital). While thousands of gamers, more than 100 websites and more than 12,000 donors were happy to support Extra Life, many expressed their desire to raise money to help kids closer to home. In 2011, Extra Life expanded to support CMN Hospitals across the country and the program has raised since raised over $100 million for patients treated at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.