Blizzard announced today that they will be hosting a charity event on the eve of Blizzcon this year, on October 21 at the Hilton Anaheim hotel.  In addition to scoring you a pass to Blizzcon, the $500 per-person donation gets you a nice meal, the opportunity to rub elbows with Blizzard’s illuminati, a signed work of art, and a tax deduction, since the proceeds benefit the CHOC Children’s Foundation.  In response to this announcement, millions of people who want to go to Blizzcon have asked what CHOC is.

It’s short for Children’s Hospital of Orange County.  CHOC is the 18th busiest children’s hospital in the United States, and just a few miles up I-5 from Blizzard’s headquarters.  Founded in 1964, CHOC now serves the unique needs of over 200,000 children per year in their hospital, mission hospital, and numerous clinics and outreach programs.  Here are some facts about CHOC that we find very cool:

• CHOC enrolls the highest number of children in insurance programs in the state of California.
• CHOC surgeons were the first in the world to successfully complete a pulmonary resection in a child using a robotic system.
• CHOC has the nation’s first and only American Diabetes Association-certified pediatric diabetes program.
• CHOC conducted the nation’s first balloon dilation of a cardiac lesion, now a routine cardiac procedure.

Blizzard expects to sell out a limited number of tickets to this event, so if you want to participate, set a reminder for July 13.  That is the day that tickets go on sale on the Blizzcon website, and Blizzard intends to close the sale if they have not sold out within two days.