This holiday RPGCharacterIllustrations.com teams with fantasy and sci-fi illustrator Ben Wootten to raise money for those in need and we hope you can support us.

Starting December 20th and running till December 24th, donating to The Red Cross via our site will enter you in a drawing to win a custom character illustration by Ben.

Ben’s work graces dozens of D&D books.  He’s worked with Wizards of the Coast, Paizo Publishing, Goodman Games, and Sony.  Heck, he drew concept art for the Lord of the Rings movies and for one lucky person, he’ll draw their RPG character.

Entering to win is simple:
Just visit our “Charity” page
Donate whatever you can afford via the PayPal “Donate” link (you don’t actually need a PayPal account, you can use a credit card).
100% of the money raised will go to the Red Cross.  The Red Cross has seen a recent surge in requests for aid in the form of food, clothing and shelter and Ben and RPGCharacterIllustrations.com want to help.

On December 24th around 5 PM PST, we’ll announce the winner, the amount of money raised, and give a special thanks to all the sites that helped promote our fund-raiser.

Could you please help us promote this fund raiser?  We think the prize is something your readers would enjoy and all it takes is a quick word of support.

If you have any questions, or want to help out in any way, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Please email me at “Craig@rpgcharacterillustrations.com”

Thank you for your consideration and have a happy holidays,

Craig Higdon
Owner/Operator
www.RPGCharacterIllustrations.com

Good luck!

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Gen Con Makes Good to Make-A-Wish Foundation

SEATTLE (November 26, 2008) Gen Con LLC announced today that it has received the blessing of the United States Bankruptcy Court to pay the Make-A-Wish Foundation funds raised in a charity auction last year. Judge Thomas T. Glover, noting that children should not have to wait for their wishes any longer, made the unusual ruling in open court last week, and creditors were told a payment would be ordered.

In February of this year, Gen Con filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. This action became necessary as a result of significant unforeseen expenses associated with attempts to expand its core business to encompass externally licensed events.

“A key element of our reorganization plan has always been to treat Make-A-Wish as a separate class of creditor and it was our sincere hope that we would be allowed to pay them in full upon court acceptance of our Plan. We are simply thrilled to have received permission from the court with the support of our creditors’ committee to pay them in full right now, especially before the holiday season,” said Adrian Swartout, president of Gen Con.

Over the last nine months, Gen Con’s primary goal was to stabilize operations at a reduced cost structure and to establish whether the Gen Con Indy event could be operated profitably. As a result of new efforts by the current leadership team, Gen Con reports that it had its first profitable year since 2005. It is now confident that it can operate with sufficient profitability to fund the bankruptcy Plan. Under Chapter 11 laws, debtors are not allowed to pay any claims or debts included in the filing until a Plan is confirmed.

A wire for almost $150,000 is on its way.

About Gen Con
Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game convention in North America. Its operations include Gen Con Indy and licensees for European and Asia Pacific Gen Con shows. In 2007, Gen Con launched their Trade Day initiative to facilitate business for game industry professionals. Gen Con is a consumer and trade experience dedicated to the gaming culture and community. For more information visit the website at www.gencon.com

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Charity Auction
We are also setting aside a few hours to sell items for charity – Christian Children’s Fund – and this is Gary Gygax’s favorite charity! You may donate any item you bring to the charity auction, if you want. 100% of the charity auction proceeds go to the charity. See http://www.livegameauctions.com/Genconauction.jsp for details.

For those who missed my earlier posts on this issue, Gen Con owes $148,562.13 to the “Make a Wish Foundation ” from a previous charity auction. You can view the complete bankruptcy filing here . As of today(I checked PACER ,) there is no indication in the legal filings that any money from the charity auction has ever gone to the “Make a Wish Foundation.”

Now, Gen Con is asking you to trust them with yet more charitable contributions.

I want Gen Con tp pay off the outstanding debt to the “Make a Wish Foundation” before it hosts another event. A successful charity drive requires confidence that the money will go to the charity in question. I will have no such confidence in Gen Con until their charitable debt is paid in full.

If you are a charitable gamer, I suggest that you donate directly to the charity of your choice.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer