On Sunday, YouTube gaming creator Seán “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin raised over $1.4 million during a nearly 10 hour YouTube livestream for his Thankmas 2020 event to support Red Nose Day’s efforts to end child poverty and tackle food insecurity and child hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Thankmas, which runs from Dec. 12 – 20, encourages viewers to create their own fundraisers, donate or raise awareness using #thankmas, has so far generated over $4 million globally with the help of many other creators who launched their own fundraisers for Red Nose Day. Over 7,500 creators signed up for materials to run their own livestreams in support of the cause.
Streamed exclusively through Jacksepticeye’s YouTube channel, the event included a $100,000 donation from YouTube to Red Nose Day, appearances by YouTube creators PewDiePie, Valkyrae and others for lively games of Among Us, and a slew of giveaways, including 10 Stadia Premiere Edition consoles + 10 access codes for Stadia Pro 3 month subscriptions + over 20 access codes to redeem free games on Stadia, including the newly release and hugely anticipated Cyberpunk 2077.
“I am always left speechless by the selflessness shown by the YouTube community and its creators. This has not been an easy year for a lot of families, so I’m beyond floored seeing the amount of support put behind this fundraiser for Red Nose Day,” said McLoughlin. “Being able to raise awareness for such an important cause is an honor and I have no words to express the gratitude for the time, effort and donations from everyone involved.”
“Not only has Jacksepticeye activated his YouTube community for Thankmas to raise an extraordinary amount of money, he is truly a champion for creators to use their platforms for good,” said Alison Moore, CEO of Comic Relief US, the nonprofit organization behind Red Nose Day. “We couldn’t be more grateful for his incredible support to help so many children and families facing the toughest of circumstances after a year like no other.”
In April, Jacksepticeye hosted an all-day charity livestream entitled #HopeFromHome, timed to World Health Day, which lasted nearly 12 hours and raised over $659,000 for COVID relief. The donation mechanism for both Thankmas and #HopeFromHome was powered the Tiltify platform.
McLoughlin created the YouTube channel, Jacksepticeye, to showcase let’s play videos but has since expanded to include comedy, gaming, vlogs, and charity work. The channel was created in 2013 and has since accumulated over 12 Billion views and over 25 million subscribers.
McLoughlin is a co-founder of the clothing brand, Cloak, which launched in the Fall of 2018. His channel attracts audiences from across the globe, but the majority are based in the US and the UK. He currently resides in the UK.
