LibertyCon, Chattanooga's science fiction, fantasy and science literary convention, is held each year and prides itself on "great guests, phenomenal panels and their family friendly atmosphere."
"The convention is small, limited to 750 attendees since we want to give the fans a chance to sit down and chat with the guests. If LibertyCon was bigger, then the attendees wouldn’t be able to sit on a couch with Terry Brooks talking about law, playing Magic the Gathering with Brandon Sanderson, or have a casual conversation about interstellar space travel hydroponic gardening with Ben Bova," organizers said.
Since their inception, LibertyCon has been a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, formed with the goal of promoting literacy and education in the Chattanooga area. Since they are a non-profit themselves, officials said they feel strongly about helping other local and worthwhile non-profit organizations such as The Chattanooga Food Bank, Chattanooga Special Olympics, Orange Grove Center, Lana’s Love and many others.
"All proceeds raised by LibertyCon are redirected to local organizations that really need the help to do good works in our community," organizers said.
The funds donated come from the LibertyCon convention attendees. The majority of the donated monies are raised during their Saturday Night Charity Auction, with the rest coming from other events throughout the year, as well as the membership fees paid by just attending the convention.
Since its inception, LibertyCon 30 has been held in the Chattanooga area with a local "Charity of Choice" selected. The LC Charity of Choice for 2017 is the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer.
"The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer’s mission is to erase the effects of pediatric cancer and optimize each child’s quality of life through essential specialized intervention beginning at the time of diagnoses and continuing throughout survivorship. The Foundation provides services to children with cancer as well as their families through its three major divisions; Diversionary Therapy, Psycho-Oncology, and Healthy Lifestyle Education. The Foundation provides all services at no cost to the families. Services are funded solely by the generous donations of its supporters.
"This year the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer is celebrating its ten year anniversary. As part of this celebration, the Foundation's new Education Advancement Center will focus on diagnosing and treating the educational and functional deficits associated with pediatric cancer and its life saving treatments. The center's programs will include an Industrial Arts program, School Tutorial Program, Neuro-Cognitive testing and remediation, and other specialty programs designed to optimize the families recovery from pediatric cancer," officials said.
This Saturday at 11 a.m., the LibertyCon board of directors will be presenting a check on behalf of their LC30 guests, staff and attendees to the Austin Hatcher Foundation.