It’s been three years since our paths crossed with the military gaming charity Stack-Up. Back then the podcast was still in it’s first year, on its first episode, and they were recording in the middle of a hallway on the last day of PAX South 2017. Now, at PAX South 2020, the leading military gaming charity has been featured at The Game Awards, been included as a veteran resource in the national database, and have created a partnership with the CDC to help lower the high number of suicides among the veteran community.
We got the chance to speak with CEO and founder Stephen Machuga about the growth his team has had since we last spoke with him three years ago. As Machuga explained, the years since have been filled with growth, most specifically in the charity’s mental health arm since it was a awarded a grant by the CDC. Through that program, Stack-Up found that they could meet people where they are, using games a distraction, and allowing veterans and civilians to open up.
Uniting it’s community over a common factor, Stack-Up has been able to not only grow as an organization to help more veterans but overall create a space for people struggling to come find hope. If you’d like to hear more about Stephen Machuga and Stack-Up click the audio above.
To follow Stack Up you can find them at @StackUpDotOrg on social media.