News
Video Game Marathon Set to Honor Deceased Friends Memory and Raise Money for Charities
New, York, NY, January 10, in the year of our Lord 2011
– At 11:59pm, January 21st 2011, several dedicated gamers will
convene in a Manhattan apartment for an entire weekend of video
gaming and fund-raising. The event, called Nick’s Marathon, is
done in the name of Nicholas Capobianco, who passed away in the
summer of 2008 after losing his battle to leukemia. This will be
the third Nick's Marathon event.
Nick, a video game enthusiast and devoted friend, touched
countless lives in his 28 years. Though he had battled leukemia
as a child, he had lived most of his adult life healthy and
cancer free. But in 2006, health issues began to resurface, and
Nick spent the next few years undergoing various surgeries and
treatments, including a bone marrow transplant. Perhaps because
Nick had successfully fought back against cancer before, his
death left those closest to him in shock.
Alan Noah, one of Nick's oldest friends, was particularly
affected by Nick's passing. “I just couldn't believe that Nick
was gone. We had been friends since high school, for over a
decade. He was such a good person – how could this happen? After
the initial shock had worn off, I decided immediately that I
needed to do something to honor the memory of the kindest and
most generous person I've ever known.”
Alan enlisted the help of his friend James Brief, and in the
fall of 2008, Alan and James organized the first Nick's
Marathon. The event was conceived as a video game marathon;
where a group of people play video games over an entire weekend
– with no breaks – and broadcast it all live on the internet.
People would go to
www.nicksmarathon.com, watch the games being
played, and make a donation. The 2008 event raised a total of
$3,000, as did the second Nick's Marathon in 2009.
The next Nick's Marathon hopes to shatter that number.
Each year, Nick's Marathon raises money for three charities,
each related to Nick:
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society® (LLS), the world's largest
voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer
research, education and patient services. The mission of LLS is
to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and
improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Nick
suffered leukemia when he was a child, and though it went into
remission, the cancer returned in Nick’s mid-twenties and
ultimately proved fatal.
Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®), a non-profit
organization, creates, finds and supports programs that directly
improve the health and well being of children. Through its
global network of local Chapters in 52 countries and regions,
its three core programs, the Ronald McDonald House®, Ronald
McDonald Family Room® and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®, and
millions of dollars in grants to support children's programs
worldwide, RMHC provides stability and resources to families so
they can get and keep their children healthy and happy. When
Nick was a child with leukemia, he participated in a
ribbon-cutting ceremony at the 100th Ronald McDonald House
location in New Hyde Park, NY.
Child's Play is a game industry charity dedicated to improving
the lives of children with toys and games in its network of over
60 hospitals worldwide. Since 2003, Child’s Play has collected
over 7 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and
cash for kids in children’s hospitals. Nick, ever the video game
lover, was gaming in his hospital room until just before his
death.
Participants in the 2011 video game marathon will continue in
the NM tradition of playing co-op games, where two or more
players work together, as opposed to competing against one
another.
ABOUT NICK'S MARATHON
Nick's Marathon was created in September 2008 by James Brief and
Alan Noah, two friends of Nicholas Capobianco who wanted to do
something positive, charitable, and fun to honor the memory of
their friend. The charity has raised $6,000 in it's first two
years of existence, donating $2,000 each to The Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and Child's
Play.
