When the famous comedian Jerry Lewis first began hosting telethons in the early 1950s, the concept of broadcasting a long program on television to raise money for charity took some getting used to.
But eventually, telethons went on to secure a permanent place on the American television calendar and raise loads of money for many, many charities.
Well, if you ask Dana Paul, CEO of the Providence-based gaming lifestyle company Ritual Motion, charity fundraising through video game streaming platforms like Twitch is at a similar inflection point: It may not seem like the norm, but it soon will be.
Ritual Motion is teaming up with Toys for Tots, a national charity that gives Christmas gifts to children whose parents cannot afford them. In a new initiative called Gaming for Tots, Twitch streamers promote Toys for Tots to their audiences in order to reach more people and generate more donations.
Gaming for Tots will culminate on Dec. 12 with the “Smash Bros Tournament.” There will be free entry for participants with an option to donate to Toys for Tots. Hundreds of players will compete for cash and prizes during the Twitch livestream event.
“At the end of the day, gaming and e-sports is the largest social network in the world,” Paul told Rhode Island Inno. “If you post something on Facebook, you may get a like or a comment back, but there is not an interactive communication going on. On Twitch, the gamers are communicating with their audience in many different ways.”
For those who aren't familiar with Twitch, imagine users all over the world tuning in to see a livestreamed game. The main screen shows the gameplay, while a smaller video box shows the person playing (and often providing commentary).
During the Gaming for Tots events, streamers whom Ritual Motion has teamed up with will put links to donate to Toys for Tots on their Twitch pages. They'll also promote the charity throughout the stream and encourage viewers to donate.
Paul said some of the streamers have tens of thousands of followers.
Gaming For Tots is the latest iteration of what Paul calls "social impact activations," in which Ritual Motion teams up with charities to harness the power of gaming for good. Past activation events saw Ritual Motion team up with the Stonewall Foundation for Pride Month, an event near and dear to Paul’s heart, as he is a proud parent of a transgender child. The company also teamed up with Rock The Vote in November.
Paul said the activation events have been a huge success, raising thousands of dollars for charity and garnering tons of engagement and participation from gamers. In its first two days, Paul said, Gaming for Tots raised $1,000.
As the coronavirus pandemic has limited physical gatherings and interaction, Paul said fundraising for Toys for Tots has been especially difficult, because the organization cannot rely on locations like schools to collect donations. He thinks Twitch provides a perfect remote platform.
Paul is intimately familiar with the world of e-sports; in fact, it was the original inspiration for Ritual Motion, which was founded in 2018.
Years ago, Paul noticed his children's preoccupation with the Boston Uprising, an e-sports team owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and saw an opportunity in the gaming industry. The way he sees it, the video game industry is massive, but it has also led to scores of unaddressed health and wellness issues, including repetitive strain injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome. So Paul created a line of gaming skins, gloves that provide gamers with structured support to relieve wrist pain and help gamers avoid injuries. Ritual Motion also sells affordable blue light eye protection and healthy snacks for gamers.
As gaming gets more and more popular, Paul said he hopes more people will take the time to learn about how important health and wellness issues are for gamers, and all the ways gaming can positively impact society.
E-sports, Paul says, is not going away anytime soon. Some tournaments are viewed by more than 100 million people — more than the Super Bowl.
“Don’t look at this as, ‘Oh, this is weird, this is just a bunch of video game guys asking for money for something,’” he said. “This is a whole new approach, but it's an approach we can use to go after massive audiences to gain massive awareness.”
Bram Berkowitz is a contributing writer for Rhode Island Inno.
