We're BACK!

That's right! The generator wheels are spinning up, the dust has been blown off some of the contacts and I'm looking for that little springy thing that goes under the main lever. You know the one? You found it over by the couch in, like, February? 

Anyhoozits! We're going to start annoying people via email, seeking returning and additional sponsors, confirming support and generally working to get the biggest pile of STUFF we can possibly lay our hands on in order to move some tickets (including raffle tickets) and raise many cashbucks for Child's Play Charity.

Keep watching this space for more announcements in the coming weeks and months, and keep being awesome. Yeah. You. You're rad. :)

Easier than we thought

Time for another story.

One of the things that warms the cockles of my black, twisted heart was the enthusiasm with which people have given us prizes and general support. It's also been a bit surprising how many people have, and the way in which they have. Even people who've had to say no have done so in a friendly and non-form-letter-y way.

One of the first such surprises was the result of a "what the hell, it's worth a try" email to Turtle Beach. I knew their stuff was solid, and popular with lots of my video gamer mates, so figured it was worth a go. I assumed the response would be a polite "sorry, but no", what with them being a pretty big mob who probably have their own giving schemes in place. So I was tickled a very manly salmon colour when the email response came, not from automated.response@turtlebeach.megacorp.com, but from an actual named email address and very firmly in the affirmative.

Several weeks later and an exceedingly generous box of stuffs arrived at Casa de Euan. A similar package arrived last year as well, and they were our second returning sponsor to sign on for 2016. 

Details will be finalised and announced later in the year, but for now we'll just throw out a huge thanks to Turtle Beach for there past and ongoing support. 

Our major sponsor

As part of the wider content we can include on the website, we thought we'd share some stories from the history (all 26 months' worth) of CPT Aus.

Our first story is the epic experience we've had with our major sponsor: Wizards of the Coast.

Before last year's event, I'd not really had much experience with contacting prize supporters. All the other trivia nights I'd run had either been on behalf of the Social Club at work - and so all the prizes were bought - or on behalf of people who were managing the prize scrounging themselves, and so they just needed me to write questions and be the MC for the night. I had no idea what to expect, and just sent a whole bunch of emails to the kinds of companies I'd like to see the wares of on offer at a trivia night.

Making contact with Wizards was a straightforward process, and the speed with which they responded to me was genuinely surprising. A few emails back and forth - including a couple to Jamie from Child's Play because reasons - and I was talking to the amazing Will. From the get-go he was enthusiastic and positive, with great ideas to elevate the night and generosity of prize support that saw us with SDCC exclusive Magic cards and a signed set of three 5th Edition D&D rule books to auction. The auction items alone accounted for 1/4 of our funds raised last year. Coupled with the giveaway Magic sample decks, masses of Nerf, and general great vibes and game tweak suggestions, the contribution of Wizards to the event cannot, and will never be, overstated.

In short: Wizards care about the community, they care about supporting the event, and they care about giving attendees the best possible experience. We're very lucky, and extremely grateful, that they're our major sponsor.