This past December GFGC was forced to innovate, driven by the difficult decision to cancel our traditional in-person Nintendothon event to keep everyone safe. What followed was several outstanding members of our community stepping up to the plate, with a desire to participate and a passion to game for global change. Borne from this passion was the GFGC Marathon, a four day remote streaming event highlighting the breadth of our community, which raised additional $1,300 raised for COVID-19 relief. While the GFGC Marathon couldn’t fully replace Nintendothon in our hearts, it definitely served as a unique way for us to continue making positive impacts, keep everyone safe, and put smiles on faces in spite of these uncertain times we live in. Despite being organized in just a matter of days, the GFGC Marathon was able to demonstrate that our community has the same passion and ability to make a difference as our marathon team, and we are eternally grateful for all of your contributions.
The marathon team is hopeful that we are able to organize a Nintendothon event this July! We are closely monitoring projections of the pandemic response, and hope to be back with you with a summer announcement by May. In the meantime however, we figured this month would be a fine opportunity to try something new and give our community another chance to help us game for global change. This is why we’re excited to announce a special fundraising campaign this spring for the benefit of charity: water!
About charity: water
Presently, 785 million people on the planet don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water. This lack of access costs lives, with waterborne disease killing more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. The water crisis also disproportionately affects women and girls across the planet, who often walk upwards four hours a day to their nearest source of water, which may not even be safe for their families to drink. Despite the enormity of these challenges, solving the water crisis is possible, thanks to the tireless work of charity: water.
charity: water is a nonprofit committed to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in need all around the world. They partner with local organizations from all across the globe to implement sustainable, community-led water projects in areas that need aid the most. Since their inception, charity: water has successfully brought clean water to more than 11.6 million people in 29 different countries. The organization’s extensive impact has proven that access to clean water changes everything: it can improve health, boost local economies, empower women, and even enable young girls to get an education.
GFGC Marathon: Just Add Water!
This spring, we’re super excited to bring you GFGC Marathon: Just Add Water! – A 3-day streaming event featuring our amazing community of broadcasters once again! Like last December, we’re looking for passionate Twitch streamers in our community interested in gaming for global change this month! If this sounds like you, please fill out this application form. Applications will close on March 17th, 2021, however, so be sure to get your name in fast!
For GFGC Marathon: Just Add Water!, we’re working directly with charity: water to support their Water X Stream fundraiser! This event aims to raise $1 million for clean water projects before Earth Day, a goal that, if met, would provide clean and safe water for an estimated 25,000 people. This goal has been made even more realistic thanks to a substantial contribution from PCPartPicker, who will match 100% of donations up to $500,000. This means that, for our brand new GFGC Spring Water Campaign, all donations will likely be 100% matched!
We’re looking to support charity: water by raising $750 this month for this cause. If you’re interested in making a contribution to the campaign, you can do so here. All contributions, regardless of size, are greatly appreciated. Even $1 funds 1,100 liters of clean water for a community in need, enough to supply a family with clean water for 12.5 days!
We can’t wait for you all to join us when GFGC Marathon: Just Add Water! kicks off over at the GFGC Twitch Channel! GFGC Marathon will run daily from 12:00PMCT to 2:00AMCT!