YouTube and Twitch are great ways to get people to donate, especially gamers. Some of these channels have millions of subscribers with even more views, so it's safe to say that they could get a message across.
What better way to advocate for charity, then directly to millions, or billions, online through videos? Well, that's exactly what these people do. Here are 8 channels who use their talents to help charities.
Listed in no particular order, let's start with...
Markiplier
Mark Fischbach, aka Markiplier, has done a lot for charity with his YouTube fame. He's known for doing Let's Play videos on YouTube, and he constantly does charity live-streams on Twitch as well.
Recently, he performed a charity stream on Twitch where he played Mario for 3 hours and raised more than $80,000 for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. He has also raised money for the Cancer Research Charity Donation, American Cancer Society, and the Best Friends Animal Society.
PewDiePie
Anyone that knows about YouTube should know Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie. He has the most-subscribed YouTube channel at almost 40 million subs and has over 9 billion views. His Let's Play videos often increase sales of indie games and his success has led to charity drives.
He has raised money for the World Wildlife Fund, St.Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Save the Children. The charity for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital raised almost $450,000 and the one for Save the Children raised over $630,000.
TotalBiscuit
John Bain, known as TotalBiscuit on YouTube, has raised thousands for charity. He's known for his honest first impressions on video games, and being an eSports commentator.
His charity of choice is Charity: Water, which provides clean water to those in need. His last campaign raised over $50,000.
Vlogbrothers
John and Hank Green have multiple YouTube channels, but vlogbrothers, where they each upload a video talking about various things throughout the week, is one of their most popular.
Hank also has two gaming channels, hankgames and GamesWithHank, where he and other members of the Green family play and talk about games.
They established Project for Awesome, a community-driven charity on YouTube. For 2 days in December, people can upload videos that talk about a charity and everyone votes for their favorites.
The most recent Project for Awesome raised almost $1.3 million, given among 20 charities.
Rooster Teeth
Rooster Teeth has created many video series such as Red vs. Blue, Gauntlet, and RWBY. They specialize in creating stories, then acting them out in video games, like in Red vs. Blue.
They often raise for money for Extra Life, and raised almost $450,000 in last year's event alone.
Games Done Quick
Games Done Quick is a series of speedrunning marathons that benefit charities such as Doctors Without Borders and Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Speedrunning is when gamers try to complete a game as fast as possible, often using glitches and other tricks to cut down on time. It has gotten pretty popular on YouTube and Twitch lately.
The last event raised over $1.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Extra Life - Multiple
Extra Life is a 24-hour gaming marathon where people donate to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Streamers sign up on the Extra Life website and all donations go to the hospital of their choice.
The most recent event raised over $5.4 million for various Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
Athene
Athene, Bachir Boumaaza, has accomplished a lot in the world of gaming. He was the first level 60 in Diablo 3, first level 80 and 85 in World of Warcraft, beat every boss in Diablo 3 while blindfolded, first Starcraft 2 player to beat 4 insane A.I., and more.
Athene established the Gaming for Good charity, which donates to Save the Children. The charity has raised a total of over $21 million since it began.
As I wrap up the slideshow, I'd also like to point out other charities that center around gaming.
- Child's Play - Organizes multiple events and works to bring toys, games, books, and more to children in hospitals.
- AbleGamers - This charity seeks to improve the lives of people with disabilities by using games.
- Operation Supply Drop - They help soldiers overseas, and at home, by sending video games and consoles.
- Special Effect - This UK organization seeks to modify and create equipment for gamers with disabilities so they can enjoy playing videos games as well.
Please visit these sites, as well as the channels in the slideshow, to show your support. It is always great to hear about people helping others and even better when it is through the use of gaming.
Spread the word, and let me know of any other channels, organizations, or people that are doing things for charities.
Published: Jul 15, 2015 12:11 pm