Inaugural Nerd Night Set for November 14th, 2015

I’m so excited to announce that San Antonio Nerd Night is finally a reality. It’s been a long time coming. I registered the domains for San Antonio Nerd Night over a year ago, after reading about the great work done up in Dallas by DFW Nerd Night and being so inspired by the idea that gamers, and tabletop gamers especially, had a unique perspective on working together and caring about their community. The games we play, whether they be RPG, cooperative board games, competitive strategy games, humorous games, card games, dice games, social party games… they all build relationships and friendships among the people who play together. Game nights strengthen families, bridge cultural barriers, and are a truly level playing field for people of all backgrounds. Our Nerd Nights take that one step further. We intend to project the goodwill and generosity of the gaming community onto the San Antonio area at large.

The Elf Louise Christmas Project

Our first Nerd Night is set up to benefit a non-profit near and dear to my heart. As a child in Girl Scouts, my first experience volunteering was our annual night at Elf Louise. I have warm memories of taking a list of children, some just about my age, and wandering the warehouse to find the perfect toys. We wrapped our gifts with care, labeled them for the children, whose names we knew, and packed it up so Santa would deliver it right into their hands.

For almost fifty years, the all-volunteer Elves have made Christmas a little brighter for San Antonio’s less fortunate children, reaffirming the spirit of Christmas through anonymous giving. The Project is, to quote their philosophy, “based on hope and faith and a belief in the goodness of people.” I can think of no better way to lean into the holiday season than to embrace that thought, which crosses religious and cultural barriers.