View source for ExtraLives play "Mop Up Marathon" for charity

{{Article|
type=news |
picture=ExtraLives2011 banner.jpg |
caption= |
weekday=Friday |
day=15 |
month=7 |
year=2011 |
time=04:07:22 |
discusstype=bmgf |
discusslink=114461 |
sourcetype=bulbanews |
user=kwando1313 |
userlink=User:Kwando1313 |
publisher=the dark lord trombonator |
tagline=Gamers seek to raise over $9,000 |
blurb=Playing video games to raise money for charity is nothing new for the ExtraLives team. Today, July 15, the group of American college students begin their tenth gaming marathon, and their third Pokémon-related marathon. They aim to raise over $9,000 for charity organization Free the Children. }}
{{CategorizeIn|Events|7|11}}
[[File:ExtraLives2011 banner.jpg|frame|center]]

Playing video games to raise money for charity is nothing new for the ExtraLives team.

Today, July 15, the group of American college students begin their tenth gaming marathon, and their third Pokémon-related marathon. This time round, they'll be raising money for Free the Children, a non-profit organization which helps to build schools to educate and free children from poverty.

The marathon is entitled "The Mop-Up Marathon". The list of games includes titles from a variety of game series, including Mario, Sonic, Zelda, and (of course) Pokémon. The Pokémon games included in this marathon are ''{{bp|Hey You Pikachu!}}'' and two "bootleg" games, ''Vietnamese Crystal'' and ''Pokémon Adventu''. ExtraLives will also be playing ''{{wp|The Sims}}'' as a prelude to the marathon: the gamers' avatars will be (quite accurately) living in a house with a coffee maker, but without beds.

The entire marathon will be streamed online on Ustream and Justin.TV for anyone to view. Donations are welcome from video game fans worldwide. Once $9,000 has been surpassed, a brand new ExtraLives theme song will be released.

In addition, there will be a raffle to win ExtraLives T-shirts. Each $5 donation puts one entry into the raffle.