Roughly two weeks ago, senior Alex Noonan created Games4Good, a charity that collects video games and video game consoles that people no longer want and donates them to children who can not afford them.

​Noonan said his inspiration for the charity came from looking at an old console he owned and realized he didn’t have a need for it anymore.

“I could find a family in need to give this as a present for their own children,” Noonan said. “If they’re just gathering dust on shelves, why not give them to someone who can’t afford video games but would still enjoy it?”

With the holiday season approaching, Noonan reached out to Safe Families for Children, with which his mother is involved, and asked them to help find suitable homes for any donations he could collect.

He then set about spreading the word, trying to get people to donate their old games. He did this by creating a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

Noonan has collected 20 games and four consoles so far. But, he said, he hasn’t been promoting Games4Good for long and it takes time for the word to spread.

“I should have started earlier, that’s one of my biggest regrets,” Noonan said. “I feel like we could have had much more success.”

His mother, Wendy Noonan, is extremely supportive of Alex’s endeavors.

“I think it’s incredible, because I agree with Alex — how many people have a console they don’t use and don’t care about?” Wendy said. “For some of these kids that can’t get outside, can’t go to parks, don’t live in safe neighborhoods, it’s a great diversion.”

Though Wendy is involved with the distribution aspect of Games4Good, she said she gives Noonan all the credit for creating the charity.

“We’ve always been a giving-back family,” Wendy said. “I got involved when he asked, ‘How am I going to make this work? How can I get these distributed?’ He’s collecting (the games), we make sure they’re in working order and then I bring them to Safe Families.”

The Noonan mother-and-son team only collect E and E-10 rated games to make sure they are age-appropriate.

“You know, no Call of Duty or stuff like that,” Wendy said.

Though the holiday season has passed, Noonan plans to continue promoting Games4Good. For instance, he would like to be able to give games and consoles to children in need for their birthdays, or donate them to children’s hospitals.

“I plan to continue, snowballing off of what we’ve done, not only for the holidays but all year,” Noonan said.