I think the Women’s Resource Center is an important charity since it provides shelter and counseling for not only women, but men and children too who suffer from domestic and sexual violence.

-Desiree Christian, talking about the Women’s Resource Center

I had the pleasure of speaking with Desiree about Causeacon, a charity based convention held in Beckley, West Virginia. The interview was conducted via email.

TheCharityBoardgamer: Can you tell us about yourself and how you got into the gaming hobby?

Desi: I’ve been playing games since I was a kid, starting with the classic SNES. I love all systems and game types as well as board games and D&D.

TheCharityBoardgamer: What has been a go-to game you have been playing a lot lately?

Desi: Lately my go-to games have been: Luigi’s Mansion 3 for Switch, Mario Kart Tour & Cookie Run for the phone and putting puzzles together.

TheCharityBoardgamer: Any designer that you have great respect for or a publisher that you have enjoyed?

Desi: As a music fan and musician myself, I’d like to give a shout out to my two favorite gaming composers: Yoko Shimomura & Nobuo Uematsu

TheCharityBoardgamer: Tell us about Causeacon. How did it get started?

Desi: My sister-in-law tagged me in a post on Facebook about someone wanting to start a convention in Beckley. I immediately sent emails back and forth with Dee Sizemore from the Women’s Resource Center and we met that night. I wanted to be involved since I have helped in different areas of other conventions before. She flat out asked me, “Do you want to run it?” and without hesitation, I said “Yes!” I found out later on that Causeacon was the brain-child of a parent who would take her kids to other conventions but wanted one that was closer to home (Libby Massey). That idea was brought to the WRC as a fundraising idea and 4 years later we’re still going strong.

TheCharityBoardgamer: Why is charity important to you?

Desi: I think the Women’s Resource Center is an important charity since it provides shelter and counseling for not only women, but men and children too who suffer from domestic and sexual violence. It gives those people a chance to get away from their abusers in a safe environment. I’m also an animal lover and support the humane society, they do good work there.

TheCharityBoardgamer: What is a way that we can help with the charity?

Desi: You can help out both the WRC just be attending Causeacon! All of the proceeds made at the convention from the ticket sales to selling merchandise are donated WRC. We also fundraise for Causeacon all year round, so attending any of our side events like Nerd Trivia Night and Late Night Gaming will also benefit WRC & Causeacon. We also host a Cosplay Dog Show at Causeacon where we dress the adoptable dogs from the Humane Society in costumes and walk them down the “cat-walk” in hopes that attendees would want to adopt some of the dogs.

TheCharityBoardgamer: What are some events or activities we can look forward to at Causeacon?

Desi: The most popular events would be the Cosplay Contest and our Otaku Bingo. We also host several video game and table top gaming tournaments as well as game shows all weekend including the Mario Party Game Show and Name That Video Game Tune. If you’re looking for something exciting, the Sleeping Samurai battle room, Nerf War and Galactic Rave is bound to get your heart racing. Then you can chill out at a more relaxing events like our Cosplay Ball and Zen Room where you can watch anime and read manga.

TheCharityBoardgamer: Where can we go to find more information about Causeacon?

Desi: We have a website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
www.causeaccon.com or look up Causeacon on our other platforms. Facebook is a great place to find out about upcoming events we host all year.

All throughout the month of April, The Charity Boardgamer is donating 60% of its profits towards Causeacon and the efforts it is making for the WRC. You can click here to go to our Merch Store.