For a long time, the video game charity fundraiser Extra Life has used the phrase "For The Kids." to describe their goal. However, the fundraiser has moved away from the phrase after a trademark filing by the student-run philanthropy event THON.
Many video game fans may know Extra Life as a fundraising event that helps raise money for the Children's Miracle Network, a collection of 70 hospitals around the United States and Canada that provide pediatric care to families in need. In an announcement sent to Extra Life communities and supporters this morning, they announced that they were "surprised" to discover that another organization had trademarked the phrase "For The Kids" along with its abbreviation FTK. The release doesn't mention which organization it was, but some quick searching revealed that the phrase was trademarked by THON, a philanthropy event run by the students at Penn State to raise money for those affected by childhood cancer.
Continuing their announcement, Extra Life told supporters and communities that in the future, they should use variations of Extra Life's vision statement "Change Kids' Health, Change The Future" along with the call-to-action "Kids Can't Wait" (plus hashtag versions of those like #changekidshealth and #kidscantwait.) Asking THON about their trademark decision, executive director Katie Solomon said that the trademarking for "For the Kids" has been in planning for ten years and was initiated by Penn State "in order to protect the branding of the University and an organization that is very closely affiliated with it." However, they did not and have not (so far) asked any other organizations to stop using the phrase, pointing out that "Children’s Miracle Network made the choice to undergo a rebranding process and to stray from using the phrase."
Extra Life holds their main fundraising event on November 8th, but keep an eye out for smaller events before then.
