We’ve written before about how Operation Supply Drop was started to help U.S. veterans by supplying them with video games. Captain Machuga founded Operation Supply Drop, and now he’s started another organization to help soldiers get access to video games. It’s called Stack-Up.
Stack-Up sends gaming gear to soldiers in combat zones and military hospitals, flies soldiers and vets to studio tours and gaming conventions, and brings vets and civilians together to play games and do volunteer activities.
Captain Stephen Machuga
Machuga explained why he left Operation Supply Drop to start Stack-Up: “OSD is a tremendous organization that supports veterans through a variety of ways, but I personally wanted to get back to the original missions and values on which I founded the charity, by helping our troops solely through the healing power of videogames…Videogames saved my life, and helped me transition when I came back home from my deployment overseas. With Stack-Up, I hope to bring what helped me personally to others in similar positions.”
Stack-Up has a Twitch page, and today (Veteran’s Day) big-name Twitch streamer Trick2G and his 2G Army will livestream all day to raise money for Stack-Up with various giveaways and prizes.
Meanwhile, Operation Supply Drop (OSD) still exists and is continuing its work. Glenn Banton, CEO of Operation Supply Drop, said in a statement, “We are thankful for Stephen’s early vision and entrepreneurial spirit in founding OSD and we will continue to build upon his legacy, but we also believe that no one person is bigger than the mission. OSD is now recognized as a leading veterans’ charity, and the team we have in place is continually working to enrich the lives of veterans, active duty military, and their families through our activities. Through our extremely strong relationships with the video game industry and other video game focused organizations, OSD successfully executed more morale-boosting operations in 2015 than in the previous four years combined. We expect to again double that result for 2016.”
We’re just glad there are even more dedicated people and organizations in the gaming community who want to help active-duty soldiers and veterans. Thank you!
