Headquartered in Bonita Springs, Florida, The Project Pinball Charity is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that places pinball machines in Children’s Hospitals to provide recreational relief to patients, family members, and hospital staff. We have been donating the placement of pinball machines since 2011, and have since become a nationwide organization with pinball machines in hospitals across the United States. We provide all the equipment, parts, supplies and regular maintenance at no cost to the hospital. We have donated 46 pinball machines to 42 different hospitals in 20 different states thus far. Project Pinball began with the discovery of a broken pinball machine at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. The machine, located at The Chrissy Brown Hematology and Oncology Unit was no longer functioning. The pinball community and many local benefactors raised funds and donated time to restore the machine to perfect condition. This Spiderman Pinball machine, by Stern Pinball, was a memorial gift donated to the hospital in the memory of Jimmy Schneeberger on February 17, 1989 – April 13, 2000. It just wasn’t right to see this memorial gift in such disrepair so we decided to change that. During the restoration, a few changes were made to light bulbs and other high use items in the machine so that it would last longer and not damage as easily as it did before. The members and friends of Project Pinball have not only made a commitment to restore the machine but to also keep it on a regular maintenance schedule so that it doesn’t end up in disrepair again. Pinball machines give the young patients motivation to get back on their feet and it also provides the family members of the patients and the support staff a recreational lift.
