Desert Bus for Hope is a week-long, telethon-style streaming fundraiser that brings

together a dedicated community of volunteers and viewers to raise money for Child’s

Play Charity.

Started in 2007 by comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun, Desert Bus for Hope is the first

and longest-running annual, internet-based charitable fundraiser, which has raised

more than $11,900,000 for Child’s Play Charity.

The volunteers of Desert Bus for Hope play the namesake game, Desert Bus, 24 hours

per day for as long as people keep donating and reaching the target for the next hour

(usually about a week). Widely regarded as the world’s most boring video game,

Desert Bus—a minigame from the never-released 1994 Penn & Teller's Smoke and

Mirrors —challenges the player to drive a listing, unreliable, virtual bus on an endless

eight-hour-long stretch of highway between Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada,

for a single game point at each destination.

Now hosted by a rotating cast of entertainers, what started as a boredom endurance

challenge has evolved into a week-long variety show featuring celebrity guests,

musical and comedy performances, improv, taste tests, panel discussions,

gameshows, competitions, gameplay watchalongs, random dance parties, and myriad

performance challenges. Viewers are encouraged to participate by offering

challenges, suggesting creative direction, submitting art and creative work, donating

for and bidding on prizes, being part of the live chat and engaging in discussion with

each other and with the entertainers on stage.

During the event, hundreds of prizes are offered for donations as small as $5, and

both silent and live auctions occur throughout the week. Prizes are provided by

sponsors and a talented, dedicated group of viewer-crafters, who participate in a

craft-along leading up to the event.

United by a shared appreciation of the value of games, entertainment and humour, the

community of Desert Bus for Hope—organizers, volunteers, crafters, sponsors and

viewers from across the globe—comes together every year to raise money for a

common goal: to improve the lives of children in hospitals.

All photos for Desert Bus 2012-2016 by Andrew Ferguson / Flickr

Photos for Desert Bus 2017-2018 by Andrew Ferguson / Flickr and Kolin Toney / Flickr

Photos for Desert Bus 2019 to today by Kolin Toney / Flickr