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Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson East & NFL Player Andrew East Raise Nearly $11,000 For Extra Life

During the 2008 Olympics, we watched in awe as gymnast Shawn Johnson took home a gold medal on the beam and also helped lead Team USA to win a silver medal in the all-around women’s gymnastics competition. Since then, she’s started a family with husband Andrew East (an NFL free agent), with the two expecting their first baby to be born in October of this year.

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Gymnastics is a very humbling sport. You literally have to fall on your face hundreds of times before you ever have a chance of succeeding. It’s just a reality you learn early on. Now, combine that with the pressure of being on the world’s largest stage, with the world’s toughest critics, and that is an equation for the greatest life lesson of all. Just like at the Olympics, people in life will always judge you, critique you, try to tell you that you aren’t capable, or tell you you’re second-best [to someone else]. They will tell you not to go for your dreams or they will try to persuade you that it’s impossible, but I can tell you from experience that they are all wrong. The greatest life lesson I ever learned was to tune out the world, live out my passion and respect everyone else’s passions around me. #TBT #olympics #gymnastics

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We were thrilled when Shawn and Andrew embarked on the Extra Life challenge, specifically taking part in Tabletop Appreciation Weekend! The couple live-streamed their gameplay of Incohearent on YouTube to their nearly 900,000 subscribers as they worked to fundraise for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville. Taking the challenge to the next level, Shawn and Andrew personally committed to match whatever donations came in during their stream!

They kept their 45-minute stream short and sweet, while also being incredibly engaging and hilarious. Check it out here:

 

Given their influence and charisma, viewers tuned in and generously opened up their wallets. Their Extra Life campaign has raised $10,800 and counting! Tabletop Appreciation Weekend proved to be a broad success, raising approximately $85,000 for the kids in just one weekend!

In addition to participating in Extra Life, Shawn and Andrew also visited their local hospital for a stop in their Seacrest Studio and some time to hang with kids who are treated there.

Extra Life proves to be a radically inclusive community. From hard-core gamers to family vloggers who simply enjoy playing board games, everyone is welcome to play games and heal kids in partnership with Extra Life.

If you would like to sign up to support your local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital through the power of gaming, head on over to www.extra-life.org and join us!