How the Youmacon Community Powered Extra Life
Anime, gaming, and community are what bring people to Youmacon, but giving back is what brings it all together. Through our continued partnership with Extra Life, the Youmacon community has turned passion into real impact for children and families across Michigan.
Extra Life is a non-profit program of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals that unites gamers, creators, and communities to support local children’s hospitals. Every dollar raised stays local and goes directly toward helping kids receive the care, comfort, and support they need during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
Real Impact Through Play
During Youmacon 2025, our community came together in a big way. Thanks to donations, charity events, raffles, and last-minute generosity, Youmacon helped raise $13,200 in direct donations, along with an additional $3,200 in in-kind contributions, benefiting Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
These funds support critical Child Life Services, including programs focused on children with sensory sensitivities. For many young patients, being in a hospital can be overwhelming and stressful. Child Life Services help reduce anxiety and support positive coping by creating opportunities for play, comfort, and familiarity during care.
As part of these efforts, members of the Youmacon and Extra Life community also rallied around Extra Life Game Day in November, a 24-hour gaming event led by longtime Extra Life supporter Timmy. The event featured nonstop gaming, raffles, giveaways, a charity auction, community challenges, and interactive livestream fundraising, all dedicated to supporting Child Life Services with a focus on sensory-friendly care.
Funds raised through these events help provide resources such as calming lights, fidget tools, crash pads, and sensory mats, allowing hospital teams to better support children and families facing unfamiliar environments and disrupted routines.
A Community That Shows Up
From the Charity Ball to livestreams, raffles, panels, and spontaneous fundraising moments, the Youmacon community proved once again that showing up goes beyond cosplay and convention badges. Even as the weekend wrapped up, attendees continued to give, pushing donation totals higher right up through closing moments.
Extra Life thrives because people choose to turn what they love into something meaningful. Whether through gaming marathons, tabletop sessions, auctions, or creative collaborations, every contribution helped make a difference.
Looking Ahead
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who donated, participated, shared the cause, or supported Extra Life in any way. Your generosity helped turn fandom into something powerful and lasting.
As we look ahead to Youmacon 2026, we are excited to continue supporting Extra Life and finding new ways to bring gaming, community, and giving back together.
More details on future Extra Life initiatives and opportunities to get involved will be announced soon.
You can read more about what they do, how they help children all over the country, and much more at their website located here. You can also find them on their social media page, including, but not limited to, Facebook and Twitter/X.
