Each year around the holiday season, the entire Poniverse community rallies around one of our marquee events dedicated to providing a better Christmas to the young patients at BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver Canada. The money raised will go toward their Christmas fund and an effort to ensure that each child will have a better holiday. For a family dealing with some of the medical conditions common in a pediatric hospital setting, a showing of generosity from a stranger can and does make a profound difference. It inspires hope and love. Hope that there is more than just struggling and concern about tomorrow. That is at the heart of this campaign. We aim to show, all of us together, that there are individuals out there that care.

For a great idea of what we can do as a community, check out the past MCM events.

2011 - The initial event. This started based on a simple status update from a member. Look where it took us. <3
2012 - We made $1810.00 and introduced some traditions that carry through to this very event.
2014 - Surpassed our goal of $3000.00! Also much much embarrassment was inflicted on the staff.

New for this year we are introducing a new primary site to donate to collect donations to go along with the MLPF's own system. Hosted directly on the event page of BC Children's Hospital, you can make your contribution via credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard and American Express only).

IMPORTANT! To ensure that your donation can be credited to you individually for specific perks (hint hint), please disclose your member name in the field dedicated to announcing a pseudonym. Alternatively you can PM me to validate :)

Example of where to enter your member name when making a donation:

Q: What if I can't pay via credit or debit card, or my card isn't accepted by the hospital?

A: Use our PayPal donation page: PayPal Donations

Q: What if my card is declined or otherwise runs into problems?

A: Call your bank and ask them to allow the charge. If that doesn't work, use our PayPal donation page: PayPal Donations

Q: I cannot or don't want to donate in Canadian Dollars. What do?

A: Use our PayPal donation page PayPal Donations - it has an option to donate in US Dollars

Q: What is the goal of this event?

A: Making Christmas Merrier is about collecting donations to support the purchase of Christmas presents for the patients at BC Children's Hospital. We hope that a meaningful gift from Poniverse to BC Children's Hospital will make the holidays better for them and their patients. Besides, it's also a perfect chance to show the world how kind and caring bronies can be!

Q: How much money are you looking to raise?

A: As much of it as we can!

There is no upper limit to the amount of money BC Children's Hospital will accept - like any other non-profit organization, they'll find a use for every last cent of it.

However, if you are looking for a number to attach to the event, $4000 is the goal we are striving to hit this year.

Q: I donated, what else can I do?

A: You can still help us out by promoting it everywhere you can! Link to this thread in your signature on other forums, tweet about it, tell your Facebook friends, shout out in your personal blog - every little bit will help! If you see a message from @Poniverse ... please retweet.

Q: Can I donate the old teddy bear I had as a child?

A: No.

We are not accepting physical item donations this year.

Q: Will MLP Forums/Poniverse keep any of the money I donate?

A: No.
All of the money this fundraiser collects will go to BC Children's Hospital. This fundraiser is separate from the contributions we accept for Poniverse's upkeep.

Please note: if you're donating via PayPal, PayPal will deduct a small processing fee, which will be reflected on our public donation page. USD donations will be converted to CAD at our bank's exchange rate when we deliver PayPal donations to the hospital.

As of this point, we have in only two days already raised over $C 750!

While we would likely all agree that helping to bring a smile to an ailing child requires no reward or recognition, the MCM is also about celebrating the virtues of our community and saying thank you to all of those that participate. Bringing joy to others, celebrating the spirit of the season, and having fun in the process is an enduring element to this tradition. Last year we introduced stretch goals for certain fundraising objectives. Some were thank you's to the community, and others were designed to embarrass staff and give everyone but a victim a hearty laugh. I am pleased to announce that we have brought this back for this years fundraiser.

Below are the goals, hidden and ready to be opened as we reach each level. As we reach each goal, it may trigger other threads or events. As we will be using two platforms to raise money this year, the sum of both will count toward these goals. Have fun guessing what is in each present or ornament ... the hints are there if you look closely enough.

For each $5.00 donated your name will be placed into a drawing for several giveaways*, such as Pony Merch, Steam Games, and the ability to alter a staff members name for your own amusement. Stay tuned for more announcements on different prizes and giveaway announcements.

*If you mail a self addressed stamped envelope to us you can be entered in the drawings as well.

Poniverse Networks
Suite 248
1641 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver BC V7M 2J5
Canada

Adding to our giveaway pot we are going to pull one lucky donor's name to be a featured interview or editorial writer in Poniverse's Newsletter. On top of that we are also giving away a slot to have the Poniverse PR feature you as the star of your own Q&A on MLP Forums.

Last year we had a series of events throughout the fundraiser. This year is no different and we expect to outdo ourselves. Pay attention to this topic, the scrolling banner, and of course follow the Poniverse Events and the Canterlot Castle Throne Room forums for more information as we announce each event. Auctions, giveaways, contests, special guests, and likely some shenanigans should be expected.

Without further ado, as the element of generosity herself once said ... IT IS ON!