ASTRO GAMING DONATES A40 HEADSETS

ASTRO Gaming Donates A40 Headsets, Helps Unitus Showcase Poverty Alleviation Through Microfinance

Video games and microfinance.  Not exactly synonymous, but in one case the two teamed up to create a sonically powerful and unique way of drawing attention to how microfinance can change lives.

The challenge for Unitus was to present the trailer for a new documentary it is working at the annual Microsoft Sammamish campus kick-off for the company’s annual Giving Campaign. In searching for a way to best distinguish itself in a crowd of 80 nonprofit organizations, Unitus had to find a way to tell its story on as many levels as possible. 

By teaming with ASTRO, which donated their professional grade ASTRO A40 Headsets, Unitus was able to use ASTRO’s headset customizer to personalize the high-quality headphones with pictures

of individual microfinance clients from India, East Africa and the Philippines.

“The photos on the headphones gave us a way to keep talking after the video and telling the stories of the women featured whose lives had been changed by microfinance,” said Unitus’ Hayley Dale, “and they sounded great – definitely made the video more powerful.”

In total, ASTRO donated five A40 headsets with customizable tags (magnetic panels attached to each ear of the set), all raffled off to individuals who signed up to learn more about Unitus throughout the Giving Campaign.

“We may be a gaming hardware company, sure, but we’re also compassionate people who see a need to help the world’s poor help themselves,” said ASTRO CFO Chris Seidensticker, “we saw this as a great opportunity to harness our expertise for a great cause.”

The Microsoft Giving Campaign is a four week internal event focused on raising awareness and funds for nonprofits.  It is a nationwide campaign -- all US-based employees can participate -- with Microsoft employees consistently rank #1 globally among companies for per capita giving.