The Sky’s the Limit on Our Dice Roll
Preparing for HADR-24 – Our Second annual launch to give advantage to kids at Boston Children’s Hospital
WildWestDan is going to attempt his second annual High Altitude Dice Roll to raise money for Boston Children’s Hospital by attaching an Extra Life branded twenty-sided (d20) gaming die below a weather balloon, and then dropping it from a height of 15-20 miles (24-32 km) above the Earth’s surface with a 360 camera attached to get amazing views of the whole thing!.
And YOU can be a part of the fun!
Twice a day, every day of the year, weather balloons are released simultaneously from almost 900 locations worldwide! This includes 92 released by the National Weather Service in the US and its territories. These balloon flights last for around 2 hours, can drift as far as 125 miles (200 km) away, and rise up to over 100,000 ft — almost 20 miles (32 km) in the atmosphere — before the pressure inside the balloon is greater than the thinner high altitude atmospheric pressure and bursts!
Hobbyists like the New England Weather Balloon Society (NEWBS) — who are helping us with our launch — and Overlook Horizon release their own balloons for scientific and recreational purposes complete with cameras and atmospheric testing equipment. The challenge for these amateur balloonists, unlike the National Weather Service, is recovering the payload, or “radiosonde” from wherever it drops and getting the data from it for reuse!
This year, you can be a part of this attempt by adding your Message of Hope for the patients, families, doctors, nurses and staff at Boston Children’s – and any other Children’s Miracle Network hospital, general hospital, doctor’s office, or clinic – to a USB drive that we will be sending along with the d20! Be a part of history, and support a great cause at the same time!
Assist the Party
For a $5 donation before July 15, 2024, you can send a Text Message of Hope dedication as a text file on the USB drive.
Minor Image
For a $15 donation before July 15, 2024, you can send a Text and Photo Message of Hope dedication!
Major Illusion
For a $50 donation before July 10, 2024, you can send a Text, Photo and 60 second Video Message of Hope dedication!
Seat at the Table
For a $250 donation before July 15, 2024, you can join us in person on the day of the launch along with all of the above Messages of Hope! (travel, food, and/or lodging not included).
You could donate in your own name, or you could dedicate it to a child treated at a Children’s Miracle Network hospital! You could use your message to thank a doctor, nurse, or staff member! You could send a video message encouraging a child being treated to get well soon! Whatever you can think of!
And if you want to donate even more, why not make a pledge to donate based on what number it lands on?! Maybe you will donate another $50 if it’s a Natural 20? Or a Natural One? Or your favorite number?
Lastly, for every donor who redeems the incentive, we will email you your own “Virtual Balloon Flight Ticket” with your name on it that you can print and keep as a keepsake and a thank you for helping #ChangeKidsHealth to #ChangeTheFuture
Fine Print
- All donations are non-refundable.
- In order to get any of the rewards, you will need to select the incentive on the Extra Life page as well as provide your email at the time of your donation so we can contact you. We cannot guarantee rewards if your donation is listed as “anonymous.”
- The launch date is subject to change without warning based on weather and upper level winds. Those who donate to join the launch are invited to all backup launch dates and we will attempt to inform everyone as soon as possible if the schedule changes, but it could be a very last-minute change.
- Message and/or media content that is deemed inappropriate will be removed pre-flight. If there is enough time before the launch, you may be contacted to re-submit your message and/or media.
- Donations made after July 15, 2024 will be counted towards our 2025 High Altitude Dice Roll Event.