AbleGamers COO Steven Spohn had set an ambitious goal for his 40th birthday: to raise one million dollars for charity through streaming. With a month left to go, Spohn – along with a couple hundred streaming friends and thousands of viewers – has pulled it off.
Spohn ran his fundraiser through Tiltify, and enlisted the help of friends, his online community, and the internet at large to help get the ball rolling. “It was the beginning of the pandemic and everything was closing,” Spohn tells us. “There wasn’t a lot that I could do with the world shut down, so why not take that 40th birthday wish and turn it into something that would be good for years to come?”
Dubbing the drive ‘Spawn Together,’ Spohn eventually had 250 streamers and 50 teams signed up on Tiltify, each one contributing to the overall effort. Some big-named influencers joined the drive, including actor and producer Felicia Day, games writer and journalist Alanah Pearce, streamer and voice actor Negaoryx, “and the Pikachu of my world, [YouTuber and streamer] LilSimsie,” Spohn says.
“By making a fundraiser that gives ownership to the people that are in the campaign, it allows me to share the good feeling of doing such good work,” Spohn tells us. “It’s not just me or about me. It’s all of the people who signed up, got the communities involved, got people excited, watched videos together, and really learned what the [AbleGamers] charity does and why supporting it is important.”
Spohn checked the Spawn Together website August 16, and saw that the international team he’d assembled had met his goal – they had surpassed $1 million, and Spohn posted an announcement to Twitter.
WE DID IT
WE DID IT
WE RAISED $1,000,000 FOR DISABLED GAMERS
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU pic.twitter.com/VlIrrBYMVo
— Steven Spohn (Spawn) (@stevenspohn) August 16, 2021
Spohn tells us all the money raised will go to AbleGamers, where he serves as chief operating officer. The charity works to help people with disabilities by providing any equipment needed to help them play videogames.
“This money is going to allow AbleGamers to continue fulfilling the vision of Mark Barlet of combating social isolation and making the videogame industry more welcoming,” Spohn says.
The Spawn Together fundraiser is still active on Tiltify, so you can head over there if you’d like to learn more or sign up to participate.