Category: Featured

THE FREEDOM TO PLAY PINBALL

THE FREEDOM TO PLAY PINBALL
Do you remember your first exposure to a pinball machine and the excitement it brought you? Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you weren’t able to play pinball?
There are some wonderful people coming to the Expo who have dedicated their lives to helping children who are hospitalized with medical issues. They are the charity known as Project Pinball. Daniel Spolar and his staff have placed many pinball machines in Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses across the country to provide a spark of enjoyment during what can be a traumatic stay in a Hospital for kids.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the physical capability to reach the flipper buttons on a pinball machine. So what can be done to help those who are physically limited to enjoy this wonderful experience we take for granted? The Project Pinball team is working with several companies to develop game controllers that will give everyone “the freedom to play pinball.” The controllers are specifically designed to allow people with disabilities to play pinball and be included in pinball events and tournaments. Those who are in a wheel chair or have other problems working the flippers will be able to use a newly developed controllers to play pinball by using the remote flipper buttons on the new controller.
This year the Project Pinball booth will have 10 or more pins from several different manufacturers set up for you to play with the new inclusive and accessible controllers. Come and try them out and provide your feedback on how they work!
They will also be hosting an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Inclusive Pinball Tournament named “Freedom to Play” that will feature the ADA Enhanced Game Controllers. Join in on the tournament and experience these controllers first hand! It’s absolutely free and there will be some neat prizes to win by just entering the tournament. Top finishers will receive plaques and more cool prizes! The link to the event page for the Tournament is: https://facebook.com/events/s/freedom-to-play-pinball-tourna/1440906456753482/?mibextid=RQdjqZ.
This year the Project Pinball booth will also feature a Space Jam themed pinball machine that was designed and developed for actor Christopher Reeve who was paralyzed from the shoulders down after suffering a fall from a horse. This special pinball machine was made so he could enjoy a game of pinball during his stays at the hospital.
WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT PROJECT PINBALL
  •  Project pinball will once again be holding a live auction at the EXPO from Thursday October 19th through Saturday October 21st at 4:00 PM. You can check out the items available at the Project Pinball booth and bid on some amazing items with the proceeds going to the charity.
  • You can buy raffle tickets for a Williams Comet pinball machine that will be awarded during the Expo.
  • Daily during the Expo you can compete for the high score on Flipper Football at the Project Pinball booth.
  • For the first time this year you can participate in a 50/50 drawing with a payout of $5000 when the fund reaches $10,000.
  • Also, there are ongoing raffles for your choice of Stern Pro and Premium pinball machines. For more information on Project Pinball and how you can help, go to their website at https://projectpinball.org/.
  • And, of course, you can make a donation directly to the Project Pinball Charity to support any or a specific Hospital fund raising project.
Please support our friends at Project Pinball and all of the children who benefit from this great charity!

School Days Pinball Debut- Lockwood Elementary School

Special Needs Teacher at Lockwood Elementary School in Eaton Rapids, MI-
Ms. Gochenour has updated us with her student’s progress since the School Days pinball machine has been dedicated this year!
School Days is a rethemed Williams Ding Dong.
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“The students have been super excited about learning their scores. I’m finding that our number recognition is improving since we talk about scores in the thousands now.
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Overall, the pinball machine is an amazing addition to our classroom, as well as to Lockwood in general. We have staff that utilizes the machine almost daily. We have specific students that will ask for Pinball Play on a daily basis. The games have been easy to fit into our routine at school. To be honest, now that it is here, I can’t imagine life without it!
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Thanks again and please let the team know that we truly appreciate their generosity. The pinball machine is absolutely making a positive impact at Lockwood Elementary!”

#projectpinball #forthekids #pinballforkids #pinballforall #lockwoodelementaryschool #eatonrapidsmichigan #specialneedsclassroom #specialneedseducation #pinballforspecialneeds #pinball #schooldays #therapeuticpinball #supportprojectpinball #pinballistherapy

Introduce Our New Marketing & Communications Specialist

The Project Pinball Team are proud to officially announce our newest addition!

Meet Taj Kniceley! She was born and raised in Springfield, OH, and attended Wittenberg University. She is currently completing online Gardening and Landscape courses at Stratford Career Institute and will be finishing her bachelor’s degree in English at Michigan State University. She also works at her neighborhood market in the cheese department and in the garden center! A little over two years ago she moved to Michigan and now resides in Grand Rapids with her significant other, two cats, a leopard gecko, 20 plus plants, and whatever wildlife that finds their way to her.

“I’m very excited to be a part of this community! It’s so important to free our minds of the stress reality can sometimes swallow us in and pinball is a great outlet. When I’m not helping out the charity, I like to hike, restore antiques, and get lost playing Mario on my old Game Boy. My goal is to help the team at Project Pinball grow the charity even more and continue creating fun and safe spaces for people of all ages to relax and recover. I’m looking forward to my first machine dedication–it will definitely be one for the books!”

Taj will oversee and help coordinate all of Project Pinball’s events and marketing. If you are interested in pairing up with Taj on a fundraising event OR if you are are interested in Project Pinball volunteer opportunities, you can contact her at develop.projectpinball@gmail.com.

She will be attending the 38th Annual Pinball Expo in Schaumburg, IL, with the team on October 19th-22nd. Be sure to give her a warm welcome to the pinball community! She might even accept a high-score challenge on her favorite machine, The Mandalorian.

Thank you to our followers this week that donated to help save the PinMobile! So far we’ve raised a little over $1000 with 22 donations! To learn more and help out the charity’s PinMobile you can click our GoFundMe link → https://gofundme.com/f/help-us-save-the-project-pinball-mobile

Tell us your name and leave a comment! We will gladly share your words of encouragement with the Escalade before surgery.

Help Us Save The Project Pinball Mobile!

We need your help! (See the end of the post for the link)
As you’ve seen the last few days, the PinMobile is essential to not only the team but also to the charity by helping us place pinball machines nationwide.

Every year the Love Across America (LAA) Tour adds on about 15,000 miles, and therefore the engine is no longer as healthy as it once was, causing oil pressure to steadily leak. Our goal is to raise $10,000 before the next LAA tour and replace the engine so we can take our esteemed workhorse on the road for the next chapter of its life.
If the Escalade reaches retirement, then traveling to dedications, expos, and fundraising events will prove to be difficult considering the lack of appropriate resources.

Click the link below to donate and help us save the Project Pinball Charity Mobile!

Every dollar counts, and we thank you in advance with love in our hearts. The Escalade is part of the Project Pinball family and will do anything to keep it that way!

To help out the charity’s PinMobile you can click our GoFundMe link →https://gofundme.com/f/help-us-save-the-project-pinball-mobile
Tell us your name and leave a comment! We will gladly share your words of encouragement with the Escalade before surgery.

https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPinball/

Project Pinball’s Iconic Escalade

If you’re familiar with Project Pinball, then you know our iconic Escalade.
If you’re a newbie, then let’s meet the PinMobile!

When the charity began in 2011 we needed a vehicle large enough to transport pinball machines, so our founder generously donated his personal car. 11 years later and OVER 350,000 miles and here we have our trusty steed.
But even a hero calls in sick. Due to high mileage and working long shifts on the road, our precious Escalade is ill.
Losing oil pressure by the minute, we decided to contact a doctor for an engine transplant. Our team is currently at home base, but soon we are back on the road and can’t imagine our long trips without it!

Keep our beloved PinMobile in your thoughts as it wheels down the road of repair.

Click below to:

Help Us Save The Project Pinball Mobile!

NEW Love Across America Tour 2020 Jersey

Project Pinball Proudly Presents our New & Improved…

Love Across America Tour Jersey’s 2020!

These Limited Edition Tour T-shirts are Now Available for Pre-Order! (Link is Below)
For Only $25 you can show your support for our charity’s mission!
We carry sizes Small – 3XL!

& Shipping is FREE anywhere in the U.S!

https://projectpinball.org/products/limited-edition-2020-laa-tour-jersey-2/

They are Limited Edition, only 100 are available.

All proceeds will be going towards helping us fund our upcoming travels, where we will be
dedicating 8 more pinball machines across the nation within the span of 2 weeks!

#projectpinball #forthekids #limitededitiontourjersey #laa2020 #loveacrossamerica2020 #supportprojectpinball #marcospecialties #sternpinball #KaPowpinball #ZenStudios #therapeuticpinball #pinballistherapy #decembertravels #fundraising #tourtshirts #forthejoyofpinball #forpinball

For the Joy of Pinball

ZEN Studios & Project Pinball Charity team up to fundraise to place a pinball machine into the wonderful state of South Carolina during our 2020 Love Across America Tour!

Coming this December!

This 2-day Crossover Event will be taking place on Twitch.

https://tiltify.com/+support-project-pinball-05854e/for-the-love-of-pinball

With Dread Nautical coming to Steam, we saw an opportunity to use our work in games to help children in need, so we’re excited to introduce our “For the Joy of Pinball” campaign.

Here’s how it works:

  • The campaign will run from Oct. 28 through Oct. 30
  • Our goal is to raise $8,500, the cost of a new pinball machine (including ongoing maintenance) for a Children’s Hospital in North Carolina
  • Pinball players and RPG players are welcome to participate, playing a Zen pinball title or Dread Nautical on stream to fundraise for Project Pinball
  • We are raffling off a choice between an Elgato Stream Deck and an Elgato Key Light Air to streamers who participate (one raffle is a pool of all participating streamers; the other raffle is a pool where each $1 raised counts as an entry)
  • Zen Studios is donating a portion of Dread Nautical games sales tied to this campaign

If you’re a streamer, whether you’re big or small, whether you play pinball or RPGs, we’d love to have your help in supporting this great cause.

Sign up today!

https://blog.zenstudios.com/?p=9530

Project Pinball Dedicates 2 Pinball Machines in Houston

The Project Pinball Team had 2 consecutive days of pinball machine dedications in Houston, TX!

The 1st was Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands where we dedicated a Dale Jr. Pinball Machine that was donated to us! We had a great turn out and some of the sweetest little patients getting to use their new pinball machine for the first time!

We love seeing the smiles these pinball machines put on the faces of so many! Huge thank you to the entire staff at Texas Children’s as well as Rusty Key and The Game Preserve for making this dedication possible!

This special Dale Jr. Pinball Machine was donated to Project Pinball Charity by a wonderful supporter in Oklahoma!

Our 2nd consecutive Pinball Machine Dedication in Houston was beyond incredible! The children, families, and even hospital staff were having a ball!

This dedication brings our number of pinball machines placed up to 43 across the United States!

Thank you all for your support, because of this, we are able to put smiles on the faces of so many children and their families during hard times and continue to place pinball machine across the nation! We cannot thank the Houston community enough for making this all a possibility!

Pinball Wizard Showcase in Maine!

The Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine had their Second Annual Pinball Wizard Showcase yesterday!

Pinball Wizard is an Upper School trimester elective that explores the history, physics, geometry, art, electronics, and engineering of pinball machines. What a great RX Pinball Program they have set up at the Berwick Academy and a great way to teach students the inner workings of a pinball machine and relate it to all the aspects of STEAM!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to try out the students’ projects in support of The Project Pinball Charity!

6 Excellent Reasons to Donate Your Old Pinball Machine to The Project Pinball Charity.

 

6 Excellent Reasons to Donate Your Old Pinball Machine to The Project Pinball Charity.

You can help today by donating your pinball machine.

1. Helping Families: We started our charity by placing pinball machines in Children’s Hospitals and we still continue to do that today. We added Ronald McDonald Houses locations to our charity’s list as well. We found years ago that a pinball machine placed in the right setting can bring joy and happiness to families that are experiencing troubled times. The doctors, nurse and child life specialist express the therapeutic and beneficial properties that such active play can have on a patients’ recovery.

2. Helping Children with Special Needs: We are placing pinball machines in schools that help children with autism and other special needs. A pinball machine can help build the bridge dealing with child develop social skills, verbal and nonverbal communications, motor skills, as well as other challenges.

3. Helping Seniors: The seniors can enjoy pinball machines as well as the younger pinball players! We place older games and titles that this crowd could possibly recognize from their youth, bringing back those wonderful memories and helping their motor skills as well.

4. Helping Raise Funding: Fear not, we can still use your donation, but in a different way. If we cannot use your pinball machine, we will try to sell it to a pinball enthusiast or similar, to find it a good home. Using the proceeds to help fund our charity’s mission to place more and more pinball machines to help others in need.
For some reasons, we can not use the pinball machines in the hospital or other similar settings. The two things that hold us back are:
• When a pinball machine theme is considered too risqué, racy, lewd or untasteful to be used in a family setting.
• When a pinball machine is received in a condition that is considered to be in too bad of shape or in need of too many repairs to be safe or reliable in a hospital or similar host location.

5. Tax Savings Incentive: Project Pinball Charity can offer you a tax certificate, since we are a 501(c)(3) not for profit pinball charity, that you can use for your next year’s tax return as a tax deduction.

6. No Heavy Lifting: We will be glad to pick up your pinball machine. Just email us at: projectpinballcharity@gmail.com

 

You contact us here at: projectpinballcharity@gmail.com if you would like to donate a pinball machine. We will be glad to help through this easy process.

For more information about our charity: http://projectpinball.org/about/

To follow our charity’s mission go to www.facebook.com/ProjectPinball/ and “LIKE” our page