While wandering over to check out one of my favorite blogs, the Bronze Kettle, I noticed that they had posted this uber cute (and free) wallpaper.

Of course, the real reason that I headed over was to check out the status of their first charity auction for Child's Play. I was extremely pleased to hear that it had raised $300!

For those of you feeling out of the loop, or who would like a refresher (for charity), there are lots of places to go and find out what this Penny-Arcade charity is all about.

The Child's Play About page is an absolute fountain of information. It walks you through their mission and how they came to be, as well as the ways in which they work to benefit sick children, from funding pediatric research, to donating toys and games to enrich their lives.

It also provides very detailed contact info, as well as guidelines for donating, volunteering, and running your own auctions for their charity. It tells you everything you'll need to know about getting involved; for example, you cannot donate your used games and gaming machines, but you could set up an auction and donate from the sale.

The original post from Penny-Arcade, talking about why they started Child's Play, and what they hope to accomplish, is also very informative. For some perspective, they report that we (the gaming community) have already raised $200k, when we closed last year at only November at $260k! Also hit up the Child's Play events page, which lists (IRL) events that the organization holds.
Don't forget to check out other auctions currently going on with proceeds being donated to Child's Play. There are a growing number of individuals setting up their own auctions in support of this wonderful charity.

If you think you might be interested in making a bid, or even setting up your own auction, then you must read all about eBay's Giving Works, the system that eBay uses to host auctions for charities, as well as MissionFish, their system for guaranteeing and ensuring that your purchase counts as a tax-deductible donation, that the specified percentage is given to charity, and that it reaches the charity.

Our previous coverage on the Bronze Kettle's auction for charity has a brief overview of what is going down this holiday season. Also check out Starprints to see what style of artwork your winning bid would get you, as you would not only receive a custom avatar, you would also get a custom illustration and your very own charm, all of the WoW character of your choice. Note that the auction is for their services; you are hiring your own personal phat lootz specialist, so you will have creative input.

Round two of their auction-for-hire has already begun! In case you were wondering, 100% of the proceeds from the auction will in fact go to Child's Play. Let's hope they can beat their record! Together, we as a gaming community can make a difference (and get some phat lootz too).