Australia has been dealing with rampant wildfires since the summer of 2019. The fires have ravaged over 7 million hectares of the Australian interior, and damaged over 1,000 homes. So far, 28, including firefighters, and over .5 billion animals have died as a result of the flames. 1/3 of Australia’s koala population has perished along with their habitat. The amount of property damage is extreme, and there have been multiple disaster relief agencies working to resolve the issues arising from this disaster. Money has been donated and raised by several countries, businesses, charities, and now, live streamers.
Several live streamers with Tiltify raised over 2 million dollars in just a few hours for the WWF Australia, Australian Red Cross, BlazeAid, Global Giving’s Australian Relief Fund, Direct Relief, and Humane Society International. Tiltify is a platform that works with other digital communities like Twitch, YouTube, Mixer & Facebook to raise money for a variety of charities and causes.
Some of the biggest fundraisers from the Tiltify livestream were:
- Seán McLoughlin (a.k.a Jacksepticeye) – $210,497 in 4 hours smashing his goal of $100,000 averaging $833 per minute
- Ethan Nestor (a.k.a. CrankGameplays) – $77,919 in 10 hours. Ethan and friends sang for #KaraokeforKoalas and were joined by A-list actor Jack Black who popped by to lend his voice to the cause
- Jack Douglass(a.k.a Jacksfilms) – $53,554 in 7 hours; Fans were entertained by a ‘shoey,’ games and singing taking Jack 5x higher than his expected goal
- Nolan North (Uncharted, Destiny) & Troy Baker (Last of Us, BioShock) led Youtube channel Retro Replay – $52,466 in 6 hours joined by Actors Seth Green, Liam McIntyre, Amy Acker, and more
Tiltify states that the numbers continue to grow as more streamers and fundraisers work to increase the money raised. Australia’s wildfire season is still ongoing, it typically lasts until February, so let’s do all we can to help our fellow humans, especially if it involves doing the things we love. We are with you, Australia.