It can't have escaped your attention that Australia is burning. Fires have torn through more than 15.6 million acres of land, destroying thousands of homes, killing dozens of people, and displacing countless more. According to recent reports, over one billion animals have lost their lives in the process. It is, undoubtedly, a tragedy of unimaginable scale.
In the face of such a heartbreaking reality, people all over the world are doing what they can to help. Teenagers are rounding up koalas in cars to save them from the blaze. Zookeepers are staying behind to ensure the safety of their animals. Adult models are even selling their nudes to raise money to help fight the fires.
In the midst of all this, a number of Twitch streamers have gotten involved with the fundraising efforts. Most notably, Loserfruit, Fasffy, and Crayator decided it was time to help out their home nation in any way they could. They opted to host a 24-hour Twitch stream for charity, with the goal of raising $15k AUD. They ended up raising nearly 20 times their intended amount.
As reported by IGN, the trio of streamers smashed their initial goal in the first hour of the stream. In fact, they managed to hit $1,000 in four minutes. Within 52 minutes, the $15K goal was hit, and the stream showed absolutely no signs of slowing down. The trio were joined by a range of guests as the stream went on. The likes of BazzaGazza, GraceWatkins, Lazarbeam, LivBevan, Brodie, Tannar, and so many more all lent their time to the endeavor.
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The stream ended up running for an incredible 36 hours after the $200K stretch goal was hit in under 24 hours. The small army of streamers swapped out so that they could take breaks and read out donations. Time was spent playing games like Fortnite and The Sims 4, chatting with viewers, taking dares from the chat, and discussing the devastating impact of the fires they were attempting to help fight.
The largest donation of the run came from from fellow Twitch streamer Dakotaz, who dropped in to share an incredible $14,000, which was later followed by another $7,000. Dakotaz shared his love and support for Australia, fondly recalling his time spent embarking on World of Warcraft raids with players from Aus.
In the end, the gang raised an incredible $318,511 AUD, which is roughly £220K USD. The money is to be split between the NSW Rural Fire Service, the Australian Red Cross, and Wires, a wildlife rescue organization.
Speaking to IGN, Grace Watkins, the co-founder of Click Management (the company which manages several of the aforementioned streamers) revealed how proud she was of their combined efforts.
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"The stream over the weekend really highlights the power of influencers and their ability to mobilize their audiences to make a real impact," she said. "To see them use this power, and come together for good on a global scale, highlights youth leadership at its best."
Loserfruit's incredible stream might be over, but there's still plenty you can do to help, if you can. You can donate to the Australian Red Cross here. Alternatively, you can donate to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service here, or the Queensland Fire Service here.
Featured Image Credit: Loserfruit/TwitchTopics: Twitch
