Buzztime and the Beach: Buffalo-based Cradle Beach teams up with Buzztime for charity

Two weeks ago, I flew to Buffalo, New York, to participate in a charity trivia event organized by Cradle Beach, a camp that provides summer camp and weekend programs for disabled and disadvantaged children. Unbeknownst to us, Buzztime has been a part of the charity's fundraising for years, however they always held this particular event in one of our Buffalo Wild Wings locations and planned the evening around our network programming. Last year that all changed when the event got so popular that they had to rent out a banquet hall to accommodate the participants... and they called on us for help.

After researching the charity and the specifics of the event, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. So, off to Buffalo I went, with a stand-alone Buzztime system, 100 Playmakers and no idea what to expect. I was shocked and very very impressed. After years of hosting the event on a smaller scale, the folks at Cradle Beach had itworking like clockwork.

Essentially, what they do is invite local businesses to participate in a trivia competition that will decide who is "Buffalo's Smartest Company".The companies pay a fee to have a team offour represent them (somechoose to have two or three teams!) and they're asked topool their brainpower around one Playmaker to play three half-hour Countdown games.There is a master score keeper who tallies the teams' scores from each game and, in the end, the team with the highest cumulative score wins. (Cheers to this year's winning team from The United Way!)

As our contribution to the party, Buzztime built a system specific to the format of the event. Wecreated ads showcasing the work that Cradle Beach does, tailored the game content and timing, and made sure that we had people (myself and our wonderful Ops expert, James) on hand to squelch any technical issues that might arise. (For the record, the event was seamless, thank you very much! )

The model for this fundraiser is brilliant... and a BLAST. This year was my second year attending andI had the time of my life. The event drew 200 participants whograbbed the competition with both hands and ran with it. DJs from the local radio stations hosted the event, helped hand out prizes and kept everyone entertained between games. Even the University of Buffalo cheerleaders made an appearance! It was truly a community event and everyone had a genuinely good time.

So let's talk the important number. I received a letter from Cradle Beach Camp this morning thanking us and reporting that theevent raised $30,000that they will used to serve children with disabilities and those who come from disadvantagedbackgrounds.

$30,000!

We at Buzztime build games to entertain... and we love what we do. However, when someone can take what we do and turn it into something this amazing -- and let us be a part of it -- it makes the work we do that much more gratifying.

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