This year marks Dungeons & Dragons’ 40th anniversary! It’s hard to believe that it’s been around that long, and boy, has it come a long way since Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson unknowingly devised the role-playing game that would become a culture-shaping force. The first books were filled with simple ink drawings and contained only a few classes to choose from (wizard, fighter, and cleric), while today’s books are filled with beautifully crafted art and 26 different classes.

Of course the perception of DnD has changed too. Once parents forbade their children to play it, believing it a fanciful step on the path to devil worship; worse yet, other gamers mocked RPG players. Nowadays DnD is a cornerstone of the gaming community, and for the most part it’s understood that playing DnD does not lead to devil worship. It’s rather good for youth: DnD allows its players to create worlds and expand their imaginations—not to mention that it helps kids with personal interaction and social-skill development, something the Internet doesn’t provide to the same extent. And in at least one case, it’s inspired community leadership. Though he might not put that fine a point on it, eighth-grader Alex Furi is promoting Dungeons & Dragons as a way to bring together the youth in his small town.

Furi lives in Stratford, Prince Edward Island, where, he told The Geekly Report, there is “not much of a gaming community.” But he is hoping to create one. Earlier this year he ran a bottle drive to earn money to buy DnD supplies for the Cotton Centre Youth Room, a local teen hangout in danger of closing if it doesn’t draw more kids. Furi believes DnD will do that (he already has some sign-ups). After all, DnD offers something most video games cannot: absolute freedom.

When I heard Furi’s story, I had to share it. What better way to celebrate Dungeons & Dragons’ 40th anniversary than to pass on our love of it to more kids? That’s why I’m calling on players in this DnD mecca to donate to Furi’s gaming cause. If you can, please send materials and/or money to:

Stratford Dungeons and Dragons

234 Shakespeare Drive

Stratford, PE

C1B 2V8 Canada

Or you can just take inspiration from Furi’s fundraising drive and throw some polyhedral dice at your own local youth center.

geeklyreport@seattleweekly.com