UK charity calls on streamers to help raise £300,000 for seriously ill children this Christmas

National children’s charity Starlight is calling on online content creators to stream and raise money for the Time to Play Christmas campaign.

Using online donation platform Tiltify and platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Instagram Live or Facebook Live, streamers can broadcast any content they want, from gaming, cooking, music to arts and craft, whilst raising essential funds for seriously ill children.

The charity hopes to raise £300,000 to give 30,000 seriously ill children the chance to play this Christmas, and hopes gamers join them in their aim.

Starlight says that play is crucial for any child’s social and emotional development, but the Covid-19 crisis has made this more challenging for ill children in hospital right now.

Starlight provides toys and games – including Nintendo gaming bundles – to children in hospital, in a bid to to entertain, relax and distract them.

Time to Play tees are also available, with up to £5 for an adult T-shirt going straight to Starlight.

Cathy Gilman, CEO of Starlight, said: “We are so excited to launch our first ever Stream for Starlight event which will raise funds to support children across the UK.

“There are over 12,000 children admitted to hospital every day in the UK, and they all need play and distraction, which is crucial for their social and emotional development.

“However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made this more challenging, so there has never been a more urgent need for Starlight’s services, particularly to ensure these children have the chance to play this Christmas.

“That is why we are calling on gamers to help us champion the benefits of play and raise vital funds for Starlight to bring joy to the lives of children at the end of this difficult year.”

Find out more or sign up at www.starlight.org.uk/stream

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.