“Playing for Pets” Brings Students Together for Great Cause

04/22/2019  |  By: Ryan Miller

College students love to find ways to enjoy games, especially in their free time.  These types of games vary from card games, to board games, to video games, which has become increasingly popular recently. With the addition of the Trine eSports team, gaming has gained a stronger presence on our campus. As a result of this, along with the Community Humane Shelter of Steuben County, Trine University developed the “Playing for Pets” campaign to help raise money for the Humane Shelter.  This event has had success in the past, raising about $5,000 over the past three years.

This year’s event provided the opportunity for students and faculty to come to the recently-built MTI GamingCenter, where the eSports room is located, and partake in many different types of games. There were many types of games available, and there was something for everyone, including Xbox games, PlayStation games, Wii games, and games that also took place in the eSports room itself.  If people weren’t interested in playing video games, there was a way they could stay involved.  There were card games and various other types of games to allow all students and faculty to take part in this great event.               

For the donation portion, people could watch the event online and place their donations.  While this year’s event didn’t reach the average amount raised over the past few years, it was a still a success.  Over the 24-hour event, about $950 was raised for the Humane Shelter, which will be helpful to the shelter.   Being someone who went to the event, I can say that I enjoyed the event greatly, and I hope this event become more popular in the future.  It’s a fun way to come together to enjoy many different games, and to also help support a great cause.