Over the weekend, Card Kingdom hosted the first annual “The Chalice” charity event, raising $33,074 for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Puget Sound.
The Chalice was part of Card Kingdom’s ENGAGE charitable giving program and was held on October 20 and 21 at Mox Boarding House in Bellevue, WA. The event featured eight competitors, from Magic pros (past and present) Chris VanMeter and Gerry Thompson, to popular members of the Magic community Kenji Egashira, the Professor, James Turner, Josh Lee Kwai, Michelle Rapp, and Ashlen Rose.
The participants played in three different formats: Guilds of Ravnica draft, Card Kingdom’s Battle Decks, and “Block Party” where each player drafted three Modern-legal sets and built a 60-card deck with them. They also competed to see who could raise the most money during the event. James Turner raised the most at an even $4,000, with Josh Lee Kwai in second with $3,987.
After nine rounds of Magic over two days, Chris VanMeter defeated Kenji Egashira in a Gruul vs Gruul mirror match finals and claim the Chalice. In his victory speech, VanMeter said that he had actually used BBBS services when he was younger and that he ended up playing Pop Warner football and baseball because he had attended a BBBS after-school program.
Lyla Ross, ENGAGE Program Manager, says that the ENGAGE program started in 2013 with a Giving Tree that quickly sold out. It then grew to include the Gauntlet, an annual board gaming fundraiser, the latest of which raised $97,750 for Wellspring Family Services in May 2018. All in all, ENGAGE has raised $347,000 for local non-profits since it began, including Hopelink, Youthcare, and Treehouse—an outstanding total that will only be more impressive with the addition of $33,074 raised for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Puget Sound.
You can read more about ENGAGE’s history and their mission statement on their website. If you missed your chance to donate to this year’s Gauntlet and Chalice events, don’t worry. You’ll have another chance next year, as ENGAGE will continue to host both fundraisers each year for the foreseeable future.