Dear Bungie, I’m reaching out to you today because I would like to introduce you to a child named Mitchell Koltz because I feel there is an opportunity for all of us to really brighten a tough time in his life. There’s a bit of a story involved with my meeting him, but I feel it’s necessary to share it. Please, keep reading if you have the time. The first time I met Mitchell was at the tower in Destiny. Our modestly-sized clan tries to reach out and help other players in the world; on that particular day I was on my own looking for people to help when I saw two players with similar names, one of them with a low level. After contacting them I learned that I had just met Mitchell and his father, Jesse. Quiet on the mic, Mitchell is polite and holds back a sharp wit, a sense of wisdom, and peace with the world until he gets to know you. I immediately noticed that Mitch and Jesse had a very close relationship and found it very endearing that Jesse spent large amounts of time with his son. After some time, they actually helped me more in the game than I think I ever did for them, teaching me things that my group had never strived to do up to that point (Dark Below had dropped not long before this). We tried to get them to join our clan, UberScrubs, but they are tied to a group of ten years and politely refused. The fathers of this group had kids and were passing the torch together with their sons and daughters! By this point a large group of us had befriended Jesse and his family, my wife and I in particular, and began to keep in touch through real methods of communication. Around this time I also learned Jesse spent so much time at home because he had to take leave at work to care for Mitchell. Mitchell is an 11 year old that was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in December, 2014. In March, 2015 they removed a tumor behind his knee, putting a titanium replacement in its place as well as giving Mitchell a custom-made femur. He then underwent chemotherapy through the summer (this is when I met them). We began a weekly routine with Jesse, Mitch and his family. Jumping on the hospital Wi-Fi, they would set up a pair of consoles and TVs in the room and play while Mitch went through rounds of chemo and recovered in the days after. They’d hang out in a Playstation party with our clan all day and part of the night. We’d play the part of the peanut gallery in the headsets while they spoke with the physicians. They turned me into a cold-blooded, minion slaying titan of death and destruction. I tried to be a bad influence on Mitch. Over the course of months they soon had digital cousins, aunts and uncles in Michigan, Texas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, the U.K. and numerous other places. Destiny became a safe haven for them, letting them focus on something other than the frightening situation they were in. And damn is Mitch good at the controls too. On his second to last round of chemotherapy, Mitchell had a seizure and we lost contact with the Koltz’s for some time. After testing, they found that the cancer has metastasized into his brain. They removed 20% of the new tumor, leaving the rest because of the tumor because of its close proximity to the motor skills area of his brain. At this point, Mitchell began losing function of his left arm and left leg. After this, the entire Koltz family went to Mexico for a few weeks to look into holistic healing and recently came back to Wisconsin. As of this morning (9-24-15), another surgeon operated on the remaining mass and removed it completely. I was able to talk with Jesse briefly and he let me know Mitch was able to squeeze his hand in recovery. The surgeon is hopeful Mitch will be able to regain at least some control of his arm and leg, if not more. The prognosis is good because of his age. The power of the social aspect in Destiny is not to be ridiculed or underestimated. The Nepal fundraiser was proof of that. Since the beta, I’ve created so many connections with people around the world. Some of these became regular names in a chat that we looked forward to getting on the mic with every day. Some became clan members to help the next generations of players like we helped them. And after a while, some of these people became *family*. We know the names of their kids and their spouses. We look to each other for advice, guidance and support. We care about the well-being of each other as we do our own flesh and blood. And I’m begging you to reach out and help a family that I love in a larger capacity than I ever could. As you read this, we’ve already ordered a t-shirt from the Bungie store for Mitchell. Our plan is to have as many clan members as possible sign the shirt, mailing it from city to city, state to state until all of the signatures are on there. Then we are going to send it to Mitch in his home in Wisconsin. In the grand scheme of things it is not an expensive gesture, but our hope is that every time Mitch sees it, he’ll be reminded he has loved ones thinking of him around the world. And this is why I’ve reached out to all of you at Bungie. I’m not asking for you to hold a fundraiser for Mitch… although that would be freaking awesome! Instead, I’m giving all of you an opportunity to do something, ANYTHING, to show that the people behind the game that has helped him cope with such a strenuous moment in his life has heard that he is struggling and can show that they are on his side. I have personal information and addresses for myself and their family if you are willing. This opportunity is too good to pass up to show some solidarity and to prove that there is more good than evil in this world. With this, my story about Mitch has ended. With this, yours can begin. Thank you so much for your time. Mitch's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MakeADifferenceForMitchell?pnref=story Regards, Tim Parsell / TT_Avant_Garde