Overview

This is the initial proposal that I sent out to 7 other players. 

What we're doing: 

Throughout the day, we'll be playing a series of drafts, using "The Big Box". The box (actually 3, at this point) contains one of almost every Magic card published. To draft from the box, each player will select 45 random cards (without looking at them) and separate them into 3 stacks of 15 cards, representing packs. We will draft and build decks according to the rules for the current draft format, then play 3 rounds with the decks. After completing 3 rounds of play, the drafted cards will be set aside and we will draft again with a new set of cards, and using a different draft format. For example, the first draft would be standard draft, while the second may be a backdraft. Possible formats are the standard booster draft, backdraft, rochester, winston, and two-headed giant.

The goal will be to complete as many drafts as possible, as long as people are able and willing to play. As an estimate, I would say that each draft would take 3 to 4 hours to complete, including drafting, building, and playing.

There are two ways to raise money for the charity: flat donations, or getting pledges from sponsors. With a flat donation, a player, or someone sponsoring the player, would make a straight donation for the player; for example, $10 for the entire marathon. Getting pledges would earn donations based on the number of drafts that a player completes. So if Bob pledges $3 for each draft I complete, and I complete 5 drafts during the day, that's a total of $15 dollars. Even if you only receive a pledge for $1 per draft, that's okay, because those small pledges can add up fast. I'd hope that we can complete at least 3 drafts, with some people willing to make this a real marathon and push for more.

How we're collecting donations:

There are three ways to collect money for the charity. 

1. A donor can give money directly to the player they sponsor. That will allow us to pool the money together and purchase items directly for the UVA Children's Hospital from their wishlist on Amazon.com. That way, we know that we are supporting a local hospital (not that there's anything wrong with supporting the others). Donors may or may not feel comfortable handing money directly over to the players.
   
2. A donor can purchase items themselves directly from the Amazon.com wishlist for the hospital. However, the donor may not have pledged enough to purchase an item on the list if they would only be donating $5 or so.
3. Donors can make their donation online (with PayPal) directly to Child's Play. Any money donated this way is not guaranteed to go to our specific hospital, but will be distributed to all participating hospitals.