It's once again that special time of year when we give you a chance to do well by doing good. That's right—it's time for the 2018 edition of our annual Charity Drive.
Every year since 2007, we've been actively encouraging readers to give to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity, which provides toys and games to kids being treated in hospitals around the world. In recent years, we've added the Electronic Frontier Foundation to our annual charity push, aiding in their efforts to defend Internet freedom. This year, as always, we're providing some extra incentive for those donations by offering donors a chance to win pieces of our big pile of vendor-provided swag. We can't keep it (ethically), and we don't want it clogging up our offices anyway. It's now yours to win.
This year's swag pile is full of high-value geek goodies. We have nearly 20 prizes amounting to nearly $5,000 in value, including game consoles, computer accessories, collectibles, smartwatches, and more. In 2017, Ars readers raised over $36,000 for charity, contributing to a total haul of more than $280,000 since 2007. We want to raise even more this year, and we can do it if readers really dig deep.
How it works
Donating is easy. Simply donate to Child's Play using PayPal or donate to the EFF using PayPal, credit card, or Bitcoin. You can also support Child's Play directly by picking an item from the Amazon wish list of a specific hospital on its donation page. Donate as much or as little as you feel comfortable with—every little bit helps.
Once that's done, it's time to register your entry in our sweepstakes. Just grab a digital copy of your receipt (a forwarded email, a screenshot, or simply a cut-and-paste of the text) and send it to [email protected] with your name, postal address, daytime telephone number, and email address by 11:59pm ET Thursday, January 7, 2019. (One entry per person, and each person can only win up to one prize. US residents only. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. See official rules for more information, including how to enter without making a donation. Also refer to the Ars Technica privacy policy.)
We'll then contact the winners and have them choose their prize by January 31 (choosing takes place in the order the winners are drawn).
The prizes
Here are quick descriptions of some of the biggest, most desirable prizes in this year's contest. See page two for a complete list of available prizes.
Thrustmaster TPR Pendular Rudder Pedals
Our own Lee Hutchinson called these pedals "the best flight sim pedals you can buy in a store like a normal person" in his review earlier this year. But he can't keep them like a normal person, and his loss could be your gain!
PS4 Pro 500 Million Limited Edition
We took this beauty out of the box to snap some photos earlier this year, then put it right back away knowing some lucky reader would be winning it in this very charity drive. Despite the misleading name (in honor of 500 million PlayStation consoles sold) only 50,000 units were made, and sold out fast, so this could be your best chance to get your hands on this collectible console.
Garmin Fenix 5S Plus Smartwatch
The headline for Valentina Paladino's Ars review of this high-end smart watch sums it up: "So capable, so enviable, so expensive." That last part might not apply for you, though, if you win this coveted smartwatch in our sweepstakes.
Cyberpunk 2077 E3 press-exclusive statuette
Ars' Sam Machkovech was pretty blown away by the behind-closed-doors demo he got for CD Project Red's Cyberpunk 2077 at E3 this year. Besides the memories, he walked away from that demo with a limited edition statuette, only given out to demo attendees at E3 and Gamescom. You culd walk away from this sweepstakes with the same statue.
Nothing grabbing your eye yet? The next page has dozens more prizes you can win by entering. Have a look!
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