Worldbuilders Shows Us How To #BilboItUp

HOLY COW! Worldbuilders has raised more than a million dollars for Heifer in this year’s fundraiser!

Let me reiterate that.

via GIPHY

But they're not even finished yet. While the deadline was originally set for today, the Worldbuilders team has decided to Bilbo it up and extend the fundraiser another week to take advantage of a $200,000 match opportunity for Haiti. 

Patrick Rothfuss demonstrates how to #BilboItUp.
"I know many of you have already donated. If you’re tapped out, I understand. But if you’re not sure. Or if you haven’t chipped in yet, here’s what I’d like you to do. Take off your shoes. Go outside. Think hard about the world you want to live in."
Help us spread the word–take a photo when you #BilboItUp and share it with the world!

What does it mean to "Bilbo it up," you ask? Patrick Rothfuss really described it best on his blog explaining why he decided to keep the fundraiser going:

That’s why I run Worldbuilders. [...] Because there are kids out there that are hungry all the time. There are kids out there with no books at all to read. There are kids out there with no beds to sleep in. No homes to come home to. No safe places. No sweet dreams.

That’s why I do all the charity work. Because the world isn’t as good as I want it to be.

We all feel this way sometimes. Because honestly, the world is a mess. It’s full of dragons, and none of us are as powerful or cool as we’d like to be. And that sucks.

But when you’re confronted with that fact, you can either crawl into a hole and quit, or you can get out there, take off your shoes, and Bilbo it up.

It’s just amazing and we’re filled to the brim with gratitude for everyone that participates in this avalanche of creativity and goodwill. The Worldbuilders staff puts in so much hard work year after year, and the community rises to the occasion spectacularly by donating not only money, but time, effort and enthusiasm as well. 

So many wonderful and crazy things happen during Worldbuilders season; you really owe it to yourself to explore their website to see it all. If you need more convincing, here are a few examples of just how far these folks are willing to go for a good cause: 

John Green giving a sneak peak of his book-in-progress...while gurgling bourbon. And sporting an...interesting mustache.

Along with all of the other work Patrick puts in towards the fundraiser, this year he also hosted a livestream almost every day and let donations count as votes towards what he would do with the three hour chunk of his evening. Most nights his followers were kind and voted to let him play Fallout 4 (caution: some language and mutant roach violence in this one): 



And so much more. We even made a little something to show our appreciation:

There's still time to get in on this, folks. If you haven't yet, hightail it over to Worldbuilders.org and donate to be part of something really special.