Pokémon Go, as widespread and ubiquitous as it has become, has had a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs so far, from catching criminals to some unfortunate domestic incidents to dethroning porn as the king of the internet. The augmented reality game has also led to an abundance of sore legs, but as CinemaBlend editor Kayla Herrera pointed out in a recent editorial, those tired feet can also do more good in the world than most of us probably realized.
This isn’t a new feature in the game itself, but by using an app called Charity Miles while walking and walking (and walking) to complete your Pokédex, you can earn money for charity, and the idea seems pretty simple. Just download the free app (on iOS or Android devices), and before you head out to find a Vaporeon in Central Park, choose which charity you want to support, and go. You earn 10 cents for miles traveled on a bicycle, and 25 cents for every mile on foot. Those numbers may seem small, but imagine the impact it could make if even just a small portion of Pokémon Go‘s user base did it.
As we’ve previously argued, Pokémon Go is an overall societal good. It’s getting people to try new restaurants, it’s helping people combat depression, it’s improving players’ physical health, and it’s even helping Americans learn the metric system. Now that we know the game has the potential to help charities do more good in the world, we’re going to install Charity Miles right now. We recommend you do it as well, and let us know in the comments if there are any other useful apps that can be used on conjunction with Pokémon Go.
Image: The Pokémon Company
