With Community Day being a staple in the Pokémon Go community now, after a few months, players all around the world have resorted to using their time with the community, all gathered together for something other than just a quick raid, to give something to their local, non-profit organizations. Stories like these are quickly cropping up all over the world, and the more that are publicized, the more players seem interested in trying their hand at their own event.
This is a story from Wilson, on our Discord server, who managed to put together an event for the local food bank in his location of Wellington, New Zealand. He wanted to share this story to encourage others to start up their own events, and that no matter how nervous you are, these events are worth planning- and are tons of fun too!
Below is his story, we hope you enjoy!
By Wilson,
I had an idea about community day to inspire people to kick start events in their community.
Community Day is a monthly event with a featured Pokémon as its main focus, but Community Day is not just about the Pokémon, but about connecting with your local community. Your community is not necessarily just the Pokémon Go community but can be your whole city/town community, after all they are the people who have to walk around you while you are doing raids and wonder what you’re doing. There are a few good ways to give back to your community including donating to the local food bank, animal shelters and other charities that are a part of the community. If your Pokémon Go community doesn’t do this already, then this the perfect opportunity to start. It gives a positive vibe and makes everyone feel good, so why not give it a try? Below is my story, Wilson, a 13-year-old in Wellington New Zealand 🙂
So, for the past few Community Days I was away from my hometown (Hong Kong for Pikachu and Auckland for Dratini and Bulbasaur) so for Community Day # 4, Mareep, I decided I would organize the Community Day, because after reading a lot of stories on the other people’s amazing Community Days, I decided that maybe I could bring this to my community. With the help and support of my community mods and admins, I was confident I could organize the event and make it successful. My friend Renee was the one who brought up the idea of donating to the charity “The Wellington City Mission” (Our Local Food Bank). To be honest at first I was thinking not many people would bring food (there was a competition to see which team would bring the most food) so I brought two normal sized boxes. On the day there were so many people, it was amazing seeing the community together and interacting with everyone was an amazing experience. In the end we filled up the 2 boxes to the brim and had around 20 bags extra. The final result was amazing we had 186 food items donated, which was mind blowing. It was the best Pokémon Go experience, and helping the community was the an even better feeling. Now our Pokémon Go community is going to donate something each Community Day, which is amazing.
I would like to thank the following:
Renee for helping me so much during the Community Day.
Pokémon Go Wellington discord admins who are Svdubbz, Era and Professor Peter and Overseers: Thank you for giving me the best advice and making me think about my ideas these guys showed true leadership skills.
So, if you have an awesome idea for Community Day, don’t be afraid to share it! As you can see in the story above, age doesn’t matter and if you put everything into Community Day with the help of friends and community members, you can get an amazing result. Even if you don’t get many donations for your cause, it’s still a positive contribution to your local community, and a good feeling to think about how you kick started your own local event for the good of your community.
Tips for Starting Your Own Event
There are many ways to start your own for-charity drive, and there are more than just food banks that you can donate to!
Here are a few tips from us to help you along your way if you are thinking about starting your own charity event for community day:
- Pick a local place to donate to, somewhere you can get a hold of and ask questions, or even have a representative come out to join you during your event if you want!
- Toy, supplies, and food drives are probably easier to encourage people to donate to, but if you are going to take monetary donations, it might be a good idea to include a raffle of some sort (featuring Pokémon figurines or posters or the sort) to encourage people to put towards the cause.
- Make sure you organize with your local group to make this a fun and trustworthy event and plan a few weeks in advance!
- A few good places you could donate to include: Local hospitals, especially children’s hospitals, fire departments, local food banks, churches or schools.
- If you have a larger group of peers such as a school or church group that you feel would be happy to help you with this event, especially if you are younger and need some adult advice, it may be beneficial to talk to them. If your group of friends would help donate and come out to have some Pokémon fun, ask them! The more the merrier~
- Participate in the events of your community mates, if they start one. Vocalize yourself if you want to help set up and offer to make posters or tell people about the event. Donate to the cause, and set an example for others to follow in your footsteps.
No matter how much you gain from the event, or how big your group is, it feels great to think you set up an event to help a local organization. Every little thought counts, and if all else fails, bring in some stuff to donate yourself, so you have at least a little bit to contribute, and to set a good example. Remember, even if you are not running the event, participants are what make it all worth it, so be sure to keep in touch with your community to see if they have anything planned!
Good luck, Trainers!
