Twitch exceeds charity milestones, raises $90K for Typhoon Haiyan relief
Gaming-focused streaming service Twitch announced that its recently concluded Typhoon Haiyan charity drive raised a total of $90,000 for Red Cross relief efforts.
Twitch solicited donations via a Teespring store advertised in channel pop-ups, with proceeds from all sales donated to the Red Cross. The site raised $82,751 from the sale of over 6,300 shirts, then kicked in an additional donation to raise the total pledge to $90,000.
Twitch additionally announced that the Extra Life charity raised a record sum for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals this year, with many participants using Twitch channels to solicit donations. Over 7,500 Extra Life participants reported Twitch affiliation at signup, with collective donations reaching $1.22 million.
[Pictured above: Danny Moresco (Red Cross volunteer), Victor Cordon (Corp. Developer Specialist, Red Cross), Emmett Shear (CEO/Founder, Twitch). Photo by Jarques Pretorius.]
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Twitch Illustrates the Compassion of Gamers with Two Charity Milestones
Twitch pop-up store raises more than $80,000 for Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts, while 7,500 Extra Life participants used Twitch platform to collectively raise $1.22 million
Twitch, the world's leading video platform and community for gamers, today announced two major milestones which reflect the giving nature of its gaming community.
In order to support the Red Cross' efforts to help those affected by Typhoon Haiyan, Twitch opened a two-week pop-up store via Teespring with a 100% of Twitch's profits going to charity. The store sold 6,300 limited edition shirts with a total of $82,751 being raised for the Red Cross. Twitch then made an additional donation to make it an even $90,000.
"The Twitch community is extremely giving, especially when you look at the millions of dollars raised for charity this year using our platform," said Emmett Shear, CEO/Founder of Twitch. "So when we decided to dedicate a pop-up store for Typhoon Haiyan relief aid, we knew our community would support it, but we were still blown away by just how much support we received. Gamers definitely represent the next frontier of philanthropy."
Another major philanthropic endeavor is Extra Life's annual charity drive to raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Many of the participants use Twitch channels to host live charity marathons and other fundraising shows. This year, 7,500 participants entered Twitch information during signup, and these Twitch participants have collectively raised $1.22 million.
Since launching in June 2011, Twitch has become the primary live broadcasting platform for the vast and varied video game ecosystem with more than 700,000 unique broadcasters per month catering to more than 45 million unique viewers. As a result, the broadcasting community spans game developers, game publishers, media outlets, event organizations, charity organizers, individual gamers and the pro gamer/eSports scene.
