The gift of belonging: Game on

Volunteer-run grassroots organization Just Push Play builds friendships and communities through video gaming experiences

Editor’s Note: This story was a part of the series The Gift, which ran in the March 2026 issue.

 

A child of the 1980s, Ottawa native James Woolley grew up playing video games on the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Atari 2600 Jr. with his brother.

As time went on, he traded Ms. Pac Man and Asteroids for Street Fighter 2, and Mortal Kombat (“this was during the golden age of fighting games,” Woolley says) and classics like The Legend of Zelda, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Double Dragon 3, Battletoads, and Donkey Kong Jr. Those favourites took a backseat to shorter-duration games (Super Smash Bros.) during his busy university years.

In his adult life – he works with individuals with special needs and those who have found themselves in trouble with the law – Woolley wanted to share the social benefits and community atmosphere of gaming with the general public. He founded Just Push Play in 2013.

A non-profit, volunteer-run grassroots organization, Just Push Play started as a YouTube channel where Woolley shared industry news and game reviews. Now an organization which aims to harness the power of video games through the offering of consoles and games at conventions and popular venues, Woolley is giving video game lovers the opportunity to play together in person.

Picture this: “In a packed setting, everyone is racing in Mario Kart, people are having fun or chilling out in the area,” says Just Push Play volunteer Nicholas Tsoukalis. “Some people are passing by to see what’s going on and if there’s an open booth, maybe they come by with a friend to play a round or two. Occasionally [the volunteers] hop on and play with people who may need a partner. Overall, a great time to be had.”

 

 

Tsoukalis calls it a “shared experience that has infinite replications. Movies, books, shows – they all have one experience to share with some exceptions, but games often allow for multiple alternate outcomes that create numerous experiences.”

 

 

Video gaming is now larger than film and music combined, says Geoffrey Lachapelle, Professor of Esports at Algonquin College. “This industry spans the world, and communities play everywhere,” says Lachapelle. “According to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, more than half of Canada plays video games of some kind, making non-gamers now the outlier.”

 

 

For Woolley, the appeal is simpler than that. Video games, he says, “have the power to bring people together and make them happy. People can show up to an event and then at the end of the day, they’ve made some new friends.”

Just Push Play has participated in some of Ottawa’s largest Smash Bros. events at the peak of its popularity (as well as running its own tournaments), League of Legends events, the Ottawa International Gaming Conference and DreamHack Montreal in 2019. More recently, the organization ran Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournaments at Geeked Out events and has collaborated with Ottawa Comiccon and Anime Ottawa.

 

 

Although Woolley’s gaming collection contains more than 20 consoles and hundreds of games, certain ones work better for Just Push Play.

Event offerings have evolved with experience. “Now, we focus primarily on popular titles like Mario Kart or Mario Tennis or popular indie titles that are fast, intuitive and entertaining for people of all ages and backgrounds,” he says.

Game choice “can make or break an event,” he says. “Appealing to your audience is key and obviously Hello Kitty Adventure Island won’t cater to the fighting game fans.”

Space permitting, Woolley brings four gaming systems per event, which are almost constantly in use. “Mario Kart is so popular that a console never gets left unattended for longer than two minutes,” he says.

Although people have suggested that Woolley monetize Just Push Play – according to Germany-based data company Statista, video gaming is a $564.27 billion industry in 2026, with the projected market value rising to $733.22 billion by 2030 – he is quick to dismiss the idea.

“Seeing people happy is what makes all of the effort – bringing the gear and giving up a weekend – worth it,” says Woolley. “Making new partnerships, new friends for life and giving the gift of time and companionship to other people is priceless.”

“For people who aren’t the greatest at small talk, games can and do help with that,” says Kanata resident Willow Lee. “They act as a way to start small conversations that can lead into bigger ones. A number of games I’ve played have allowed me to meet others with the same interests, people that I never would’ve met otherwise.”

 

 

“One of my favourite stereotypes to destroy is that video gaming is (or was) an anti-social activity,” says Lachapelle. “The reality is that video games have always been a multi-player activity from their very inception. The very first video game ever made is quite literally called ‘Tennis for Two,’ and was played by two players on an oscilloscope. Even single-player games in the arcade had a leaderboard for all of the different people to play through. There is not a single console that was ever made for home video game play that had [fewer] than two ports for controllers. Video games have never been a solitary pastime.”

Aside from making friends, video games offer all sorts of benefits. Woolley lists them off: “it teaches people to work together, make faster decisions and process information better, improve their visual spatial skills, be more resilient in their lives, set goals and be motivated to dream, get instant feedback and improve [their] memories and attention.”

Tsoukalis agrees. “Depending on the game, it can help mitigate or reduce stress by allowing [players] to relax and have fun,” he says. “It allows people to escape the harsh reality of our world and, for a brief moment in time, just enjoy their time with each other and the game itself.”

And then that world, says Woolley, “feels like a much smaller but nicer place.”

 

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Instagram: instagram.com/justpushplaycan/?hl=en
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“I was hoping for Just Push Play to bring people together and make a difference in our community. I feel like it has made an impact because there are not many groups like us in Ottawa or even in Ontario. The fact that I have heard people discussing what we do over the years is rewarding.”

James Woolley, founder, Just Push Play

“I like to think of us as more of an arcade. Except we don't charge quarters. We just chill and help when we can.”

Nicholas Tsoukalis, volunteer, Just Push Play