Recent layoffs at Electronic Arts and THQ suggest that the gaming industry is by no means "recession-proof" after all, and it's about to become clear if that applies to gaming charities as well.

　　Penny Arcade, the Web comic that spawned an episodic adventure game and the annual PAX convention, today launched the 2008 Child's Play charity drive. Now in its sixth year, Child's Play benefits more than 50 different children's hospitals worldwide, from the Seattle Children's Hospital in Penny Arcade's backyard to the Children's Cancer Hospital in Egypt.

　　People can donate cash directly to Child's Play through PayPal, or they can peruse individual institutions' Amazon wish lists and send specific games and toys directly to the hospital. Since its inception, Child's Play has welcomed the donations of more than 100,000 gamers and corporate sponsors like Blizzard, Microsoft Game Studios, Insomniac Games, and the Dallas branch of the International Game Developers Association.

　　"Despite receiving $1.3 million in donations last year, we know the economic landscape is pretty volatile, so we'd be ecstatic if we hit our $750,000 goal for 2008," Penny Arcade president of operations and business development Robert Khoo told GameSpot. "Times are tough, but we also know that all the hospitals in the Child's Play network appreciate anything and everything they receive!"

　　For more information on Child's Play or to make a donation, visit the charity's official Web site.