GIVING BACK: Stack Up

Blog

August 10, 2026

Lisa Daigle

Assistant Managing Editor

Military Embedded Systems

Each issue, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different organization that benefits the military, veterans, and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day.

This issue we are highlighting Stack Up, a charity that aims to unite military veterans and civilian support systems through a shared love of video gaming. The 501 (c)(3) organization emphasizes helping veterans with mental-health wellness and preventing suicide by way of several programs. For the charity, the “stack” represents a strong community of friends, family, brothers and sisters in arms, and supporters who all want to come together for a common mission – in this instance, supporting veterans with video gaming and community events.

According to information from the organization, an exploratory study of active-duty U.S. military and veteran gamers revealed that nearly half of the participants used video games to cope with challenges associated with their military service. Video games, said those studied, helped with escapism, managing self-diagnosed physical and/or psychological ailments, seeking social support (particularly through massively multiplayer online games), and connecting with civilian life.

Stack Up runs four main programs: The Stacks, groups of volunteers around the U.S. and globally who host veterans and their supporters at a variety of events, from group game nights to community-betterment projects; Supply Crates, in which deployed personnel and veterans are provided with video-game care packages full of the latest games, gear, and consoles as a way to raise morale, build camaraderie, combat PTSD, and fight the sad reality of veteran suicide; Air Assaults, which provide all-expenses-paid trips for veterans to attend video-game and geek-culture events; and the Overwatch Program, which is a peer-based mental-health initiative that brings together community members to participate in game nights so that they can relax, connect with other veterans, and potentially get help for mental-health challenges.