As Magic: The Gathering goes back to school this spring with the release of Strixhaven: School of Mages, our friends at the Command Zone podcast are working to put Magic cards in the hands of more young people.
During the month of April, the Command Zone pledged to raise $10,000 for MagiKids – an organization that provides cards and educational tools to after-school Magic clubs. For every purchase made using their Card Kingdom affiliate link this month, the Command Zone has donated $10 to MagiKids. And thanks to the support of the Magic community, the Command Zone has reached their goal of $10,000 raised in record time.
Card Kingdom has been proudly working with both the Command Zone and MagiKids, and we want to continue to support this fundraising effort. For the remainder of April, Card Kingdom will be donating $10 for each purchase made through Command Zone’s affiliate link until we raise another $10,000. That’s a total of $20,000 we could potentially raise for this vital organization.
MagiKids provides free “MagiKits” to after-school Magic programs, filled with cards that will form the basis of each student’s collection. Through their “Sort-Build-Play” curriculum, MagiKids encourages kids to take ownership of their cards as they learn the ins and outs of the game. They provide cards to a variety of organizations, from public schools to Boys & Girls Clubs to homeschool groups. And with schools reopening and groups beginning to gather again across the US, there’s no better time to support this vital program.
MagiKids began five years ago as an offshoot of Weirdcards, a nonprofit social club running charity events. “Often, our members and others would just…give us stuff,” said founder Jason Egginton. “We knew that just redistributing it without a plan may be wasted effort. That’s when our interests in gamification and curriculum development kicked in. After working with local schools and groups, we discovered that having a semi-structured Sort-Build-Play plan was versatile, yet focused enough for a wide variety of ages and types of students.”
Monetary donations are crucial to getting MagiKits in the hands of more young people, but there are many other ways you can help support MagiKids’ mission. You can volunteer, become a partner sponsor, or even start a group of your own to help more kids in your community discover Magic.
“We’re…happy to be able to more widely share our mission with anyone out there needing this kind of help during unprecedented times,” Egginton said. “Thanks to Command Zone, Card Kingdom and other partners and volunteers, our goal is to mainstream Magic: The Gathering within every school district in the U.S.!”
To learn more and find out how you can donate and get involved, visit magikids.org.