{"id":67271,"date":"2025-11-24T05:49:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T05:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/67271\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T05:49:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T05:49:20","slug":"gamers-rise-for-good-as-esports-team-hosts-charity-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/67271\/","title":{"rendered":"Gamers rise for good as esports team hosts charity gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

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CSULB Esports Association students gather together during \u201cThe Glimmer of Hope Gala\u201d charity event on Nov. 21, held at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid. Charlotte LoCicero | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the upper part of the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid was buzzing with shouts and cheers courtesy of a Long Beach State basketball game<\/a>, inside The Pointe<\/a>, the CSULB Esports Association<\/a> hosted a charity event to support the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House on Friday, Nov. 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the esports team, established in 2013, it\u2019s not only about the games, but also about the community they help build and create together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGaming should be inclusive to everyone and we felt that children in hospitals should have access to these games, so we\u2019re trying to help with that,\u201d said Corinna Nguyen, fifth-year math education major and president<\/a> of the Esports Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nguyen wants to demonstrate that esports is more than just playing games, and that the group is built on the need to help others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually come out, show out and help the community,\u201d Nguyen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Located near the Miller Children\u2019s and Women\u2019s Hospital, the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House<\/a> was established in 2011 to help families with sick or injured children stay together by offering transportation and housing at no cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Julie Sampras, director of development at the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House, discusses their foundation\u2019s goal of helping families in need on Nov. 21. Charlotte LoCicero | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n

For Julie Sampras, the director of development for the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House, partnerships with student organizations are important.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for me, this partnership represents a younger generation in an area that is maybe not as aware of our mission and the work that we do,\u201d Sampras said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 70% of families who access healthcare at Miller Children\u2019s and Women\u2019s Hospital are referred by social workers. While supported by McDonald\u2019s, the food chain funds only 10% to 15% of its operating costs, according to Sampras.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are completely reliant on our community,\u201d Sampras said. \u201cA very small percentage of funding comes from McDonald\u2019s, so we are reliant on community organizations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sampras shared how a family\u2019s 9-year-old daughter became an \u201cambassador\u201d for the house and promised to return and bake cookies for other families. She also highlighted that giving back doesn\u2019t just mean monetary donations but also time, resources and talents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to say that the best entry level at Ronald McDonald\u2019s house is to bake cookies and get to know our mission,\u201d Sampras said.<\/p>\n

After a steak dinner, Vice President of the Esports Association Kevin Luu delivered an emotional speech, touching on finding family among his teammates and the importance of self-love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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CSULB Esports Association Vice President Kevin Luu was one of the two guest speakers for \u201cThe Glimmer of Hope Gala\u201d located inside of The Pointe at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, on Nov. 21. Charlotte LoCicero | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n

A round of icebreaker bingo pushed and encouraged attendees to meet others through prompts like, \u201calways forgets to mute\/unmute\u201d or \u201clikes sweet and sour sauce with their McNuggets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicolas Chiem, second-year child development major and general manager for the Esports Association, hosted the gala for the first time on Friday. <\/p>\n

Filled with energy and gratitude, Chiem was proud the team was able to host friends, families and organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, esports isn\u2019t very big at school and I\u2019m glad that this event has brought people together,\u201d Chiem said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Several guests at the event won prizes selected at random, including Julie Sampras, director of development at the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House, on Nov. 21. Charlotte LoCicero | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n

Toward the end of the night, event organizers announced the silent auction winners. Items up for the highest bid included a deluxe gourmet basket, one silver annual pass to Universal Studios, two tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific and a handmade 3D star sculpture.<\/p>\n

Invited to the event by her son, Adelina Wilson was happy to win the star sculpture by student artist Jasmine Tabobo. <\/p>\n

Wilson said her son had volunteered for the Ronald McDonald House, so it was nice to see others support the cause.<\/p>\n

Anticipation grew as the night ended with raffle winners. Attendees waited for a chance to win a LEGO plant set, a Kuromi PC gaming soundbar, Razer gaming mice or Gen G merch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Adelina Wilson, whose child is part of the Esports Association, took home a featured statuette from \u201cThe Glimmer of Hope Gala\u201d on Nov. 21. Charlotte LoCicero | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n

Fourth-year molecular physics major Jacob Bazo believes that beyond playing games, esports can have a positive impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way this can change for the better is just by helping people; it doesn\u2019t take much effort to talk to someone,\u201d Bazo said. \u201cGames bring people together.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CSULB Esports Association students gather together during \u201cThe Glimmer of Hope Gala\u201d charity event on Nov. 21, held…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-67271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}