Game On! Burn Unit Kids Use Computer Games, donated by Dallas Children’s Charities, as Part of Rehab

Young burn patients at Parkland Hospital Burn Center are enjoying four gaming consoles and more than 40 games provided by Dallas Children’s Charities.

Using Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit and Wii Guitar Hero games, youngsters in the burn unit can now play more than 25 virtual sports from their rooms as part of their rehabilitation.

Dallas Children’s Charities also donated three dance pads with six dance games each to help patients exercise and develop their feet and legs.  Patients also can use special optical mouses to improve their dexterity in the computer room.

Parkland Hospital’s burn unit and the Dallas Police Department asked Dallas Children’s Charities to provide Nintendo Wii consoles and other video equipment. "We are so gratified to have played a part and be included in some small way in these children's recovery,” said Steve Crane, vice president-charity for DCC.

Dallas Children’s Charities previously donated hundreds of PG-rated movies, Nintendo Wii accessories and laptop computers to Scottish Rite Hospital of Dallas and Children's Medical Center of Dallas. At Children's Medical Center, laptops went to patients to take home.

Other donations by Dallas Children’s Charities include more than 250 computers with software to Dallas-area children, and computer labs for Dallas County Juvenile Services and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.

To learn more about Dallas Children’s Charities go to www.dallaschildrenscharities.org.

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ABOUT DALLAS CHILDREN’S CHARITIES

The Dallas Margarita Society, Inc. d/b/a Dallas Children's Charities was formed in 1977 when a small group of business acquaintances decided to host a holiday party for associates and friends, and asked their guests to bring Christmas gifts for less fortunate children. DMS/DCC is a non-profit charitable organization whose goals are twofold. The first is to provide disadvantaged Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex children with gifts at Christmas time and the second is to help those community organizations that work directly with underprivileged children throughout the year by providing funding, in-kind donations and volunteer support.  Its annual Dallas Margarita Ball has grown over the years and is now believed to be the largest annual invitation only charity black tie gala in the world, with more than 11,000 guests providing gifts for more than 7,000 disadvantaged children each year. Since 1977, DMS/DCC and its volunteers have contributed over one million hours of community service and more than 155,000 toys and gifts valued at more than $3,500,000.  In 2008 alone, over $694,150 in toys, services, equipment and cash were donated to “at risk” youth in North Texas and the charities and organizations which work with them on a regular basis.

DMS/DCC is unique in that it has no paid staff and no fixed overhead – all Officers, Directors, Members, and Directors Emeritus serve on a volunteer basis.

DMS/DCC achieves its goals by hosting social fundraising networking events throughout the year, an annual golf tournament in early summer and the Dallas Margarita Ball early in the holiday season.  Guests at the Dallas Margarita Ball are encouraged to bring toys or sponsor gifts with cash. Additionally, individual and corporate sponsorships are solicited, and through Sponsors’ generosity DMS/DCC provides operating support and scholarships to numerous community organizations. All DMS/DCC fund-raising activities and events, and all supported charitable organizations are located within the DFW Metroplex.  “THE DALLAS MARGARITA SOCIETY/DALLAS CHILDREN’S CHARITIES IS NOT TRYING TO BE THE BIGGEST CHARITY IN NORTH TEXAS, BUT A CHARITY THAT DOES BIG THINGS, IN SMALL WAYS, EVERY DAY.” WWW.DALLASCHILDRENSCHARITIES.ORG.