Several mental health based video game charities have also become prominent is the last few years. Stack Up is one of these charities. Stack Up helps veterans at home, as well as soldiers overseas, with their mental health through gaming. At Twitchcon, I sat down with founder and CEO Stephen Machuga to learn more about the charity and its growth.

GameSkinny: Can you give us a quick rundown of Stack Up, what it does and its mission?

GS: You mentioned you help troops both overseas and here at home. What are some of the different difficulties that come with doing that, and what are the results you’ve seen from doing these programs like?

We have an Air Assault program that we use to help veterans fly out to various gaming events like studio tours, Comic-Con, E3, and things like that. We have our stacks program, which are community based volunteer efforts around the world, teams that get out and do good in their communities.

Then we have our Stackup Overwatch Program (StOP), which is our 24/7 peer-to-peer suicide prevention team on Discord, where veterans can come in and get some help that they need at all hours of the day. So those are our primary programs.

We get new stories back … as far as individuals … asking for gear like that we say, “Hey, if we’re going to send you this stuff, could you please send us back some photos and some stories of you guys utilizing this?” And you get stories about individuals having tournaments at their unit wherever they are to determine who gets a day off or who gets to do what duties based on how they do in the tournament.

It’s a cool taste of home for these guys and gals that are in a place that feels as far away from home as you can possibly get.

GS: So can you tell me about the kind of things you do with those here and not overseas?

GS: What are some of your hopes for the future of Stack Up?

You hear all kinds of stories about people who don’t have enough money. They’re living on disability, and they don’t have enough money for gaming and it becomes a luxury item. It’s tough to say, “Hey, this is an Xbox and some games as a medical necessity,” but it very much can be.

One of the key indicators of somebody who’s suicidal is somebody who’s disconnected from the outside world. They don’t feel that they’re a part of anything. And multiplayer gaming is one of those things where you have a group of people who may not have served in the military but speak that gaming language. It helps you feel like you’re part of something bigger, which many veterans feel when they’re in the military.

GS: Can you tell me about what you have at your booth here at TwitchCon?

There’s no venture capital, and there’s no shark tank that’s going to say, “Hey, this is a great charity idea; I want to invest money into it.” Because it’s about getting a return on investment, so we need to find individuals with deep pockets and that love philanthropy to help get this thing from a half million dollars a year to where we’re competing with some of the bigger charities.

That’s the goal right now. We get larger, we’re not going anywhere, we’re not worried about keeping the lights on, we can do more, we can help more people, and it doesn’t become this hand-to-mouth existence that we’re living with. So we can do more if we’re secure.

GS: Can you tell me about the dinosaur mascot that’s all over your booth?

GS: What is the logo for Stack Up, and why was it chosen?

Those interested in learning more about Stack Up can visit their website. For those who would like to help out with the charity’s efforts, they can either donate or volunteer.