Pittsburgh Penguins Donate $25,000 to AbleGamers Charity

For years, both professional sports and gaming have continued to move toward the same destination, sometimes butting heads over what is and what isn’t a sport, but ultimately settling into a place of widespread mutual respect. Earlier this year, the NHL team Pittsburgh Penguins and Ablegamers came together to help bring the delights of video games to those who face obstacles when it comes to accessing them.

“The Penguins Foundation has gotten to know The AbleGamers Charity through an eSports event that we have partnered on together, in order to bring hockey, gaming and eSports to everyone,” says Dave Soltesz, President of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. “It wasn’t until we got to know the individuals behind the organization when it really clicked. You could see such a passion they had for their amazing cause, to provide inclusion in gaming to everyone, regardless of their situation. We knew that we wanted to help.”

The ensuing meetings resulted in the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation in adopting Ablegamers and donating 25 thousand dollars to our case as well as further support for experience grant writers so the charity to seek out more funds from potential sponsors in the future.

From NHL "Pens working with AbleGamers to bring hockey and esports to everyone"

We are honored & thrilled to be adopted by the @Penguins' @PensFoundation – Together we'll change lives by creating opportunities to enable play for people with disabilitieshttps://t.co/FWjF77zqiG pic.twitter.com/y9sO8W2Zia

— AbleGamers Charity (@AbleGamers) July 30, 2019

“We are proud to have ‘adopted’ The AbleGamers Charity as part of our Penguins family and will do anything to support them,” says Soltesz. The Penguins’ donation will help ensure that Ablegamers’ doors stay open and we’re able to carry on with our mission of making video games accessible for everyone. To see what Ablegamers does with donations, head here to read more about our initiatives involving building accessibility-minded controllers, consulting developers and manufacturers, building accessibility playrooms, and more.

Javy Gwaltney is a publicist working with Private Division and other fantastic clients. He was once a Game Informer editor and spends most of his time writing words or thinking about replaying Mass Effect. You can find him on his twitter or his website.