Tune in to Twitch.tv/JDRF August 7–16 for charity stream highlights

NEW YORK – August 6, 2020 – Online livestream fundraisers are the telethons of the twenty-first century and JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, is kicking off a big one tomorrow to raise money and awareness for research and cures. Taking place August 7–16, Game Over, T1D will have dozens of people with type 1 diabetes connections streaming on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook while fundraising toward a collective $50k goal.

Each participant will livestream activities of their choice including popular video games such as VALORANT, Fortnite, Pokémon, and Minecraft, original music and art, trivia and party games, coding, a competitive Mario Kart tournament, yoga, and type 1 diabetes Q&A—all broadcast live while streamers collect donations for JDRF through the online fundraising platform Tiltify. Visit Twitch.tv/JDRF to view hosted streams throughout the 10-day event, or https://www.jdrf.org/game-over-t1d-schedule for the full schedule and links to each fundraiser’s channel.

“The philanthropy landscape is evolving, especially with COVID-19 requiring us to rethink traditional in-person fundraising methods,” says Nicole Friedland, Executive Director of JDRF’s Northern California chapter. “A lot of the people participating in this online fundraiser are gamers, but Game Over, T1D is bigger than video games. It’s an opportunity to eliminate geographical barriers and unite the global type 1 diabetes community under a common goal: to fund research that eases the burden of the disease they live with every day.”

The August 7–16 Game Over, T1D event will be the third large-scale livestream fundraiser organized by JDRF Game2Give, a program started in 2019 to explore the video game industry’s massive fundraising potential. Various video game fundraising initiatives have raised over $1B for charity to date, with $200M of this originating from the Twitch livestream community. JDRF Game2Give has capitalized on this opportunity by raising more than $500k in its first year, with about 10 percent of that amount coming from charity streams.

“It’s been amazing to see JDRF’s livestream community grow over the past year,” says JDRF Game2Give Advisory Council Vice Chair Hans Ten Cate, a game industry veteran and father of a daughter with T1D. “Nearly every person involved in this fundraiser has a personal story to share about type 1 diabetes, which helps spread awareness as well as raise money for JDRF’s critical research. Our streamers’ energy, enthusiasm, and personal commitment is inspiring and I can’t wait to see what they achieve over the next ten days.”

People who want to view and support the Game Over, T1D charity streams and receive news about future events are invited to RSVP at https://www.jdrf.org/game-over-t1d. People interested in doing charity streams for JDRF, either as part of an organized event or independently, can sign up at https://www.jdrf.org/stream.

About Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. Its onset has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent T1D, and—at present—nothing you can do to get rid of it.

About JDRF

JDRF’s mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. To accomplish this, JDRF has invested more than $2.2 billion in research funding since our inception. We are an organization built on a grassroots model of people connecting in their local communities, collaborating regionally for efficiency and broader fundraising impact, and uniting on a national stage to pool resources, passion, and energy. We collaborate with academic institutions, policymakers, and corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver a pipeline of innovative therapies to people living with T1D. Our staff and volunteers throughout the United States and our six international affiliates are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our vision of a world without T1D. For more information, please visit jdrf.org or follow us on Twitter: @JDRF

About JDRF Game2Give

Spearheaded by JDRF’s Northern California chapter, JDRF Game2Give is an initiative that harnesses the fundraising potential of the multibillion-dollar video game industry. JDRF Game2Give brings together all types of people with T1D who work and play with video games, mobilizing this community to raise money and awareness for diabetes research. Our initial Twitch and Humble Bundle fundraisers in November 2019 raised more than $500k for T1D research. Visit jdrf.org/gaming to learn more or jdrf.org/stream to join our livestream fundraising team and get news about upcoming events.