UK casters James Banks and ODPixel join #StreamersWithUkraine marathon which hopes to raise $1m in humanitarian aid

British esports personalities James Banks and ODPixel are taking part in a charity campaign designed to raise funds for humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

James, known for his work in CSGO, Valorant and fighting games and ODPixel, who is well-known in Dota 2 esports, have joined the #StreamersWithUkraine marathon which is being organised by Ukrainian tournament organiser WePlay, app creator Reface and streamer income/audience platform Organization.GG.

More than 100 streamers have committed to the cause, and organisers are looking for more to join.

The goal is to bring awareness around the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and raise $1m for humanitarian needs. All donations will directly go to Razom and Nova Ukraine non-profits.

#StreamersWithUkraine is a 30-day charity campaign that kicked off on March 24th 2022.

To start fundraising, participants can sign up at the official Organization.gg website until April 23rd, when the campaign ends. After the registration, talent will be able to contribute by sharing a PayPal donations link on social media, adding donations QR codes to livestreams, playing games and/or hosting live experiences with viewers.

The viewers will also have the opportunity to play or compete against pros or streamers in CSGO, Call of Duty or Apex Legends.

Supporters will have an opportunity to play along Danil ‘Dendi’ Ishutin, Jarosław ‘pashaBiceps’ Jarząbkowski and many more.

There are no minimum requirements or time commitments to be a part of the campaign.

Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche, Michael ‘THINND’” McMahon, and others have already agreed to participate. More than 15 talent agencies, including FantasyExpo, Evolved, Ader Gaming, Prodigy, AFK Creators and more are supporting the campaign.

Additionally, pro players from top esports organisations are joining the initiative too: Wisla Krakow, Ago and others.

“Initially Organization.GG was a platform that helped streamers grow their community by playing with their viewers,” stated Dima Okhrimchuk, CEO at Organization.GG. “However, since the war started we could not stand aside and started looking for ways to help Ukrainians.

“We created a universal tool that will help any streamer or influencer contribute to this important cause. This is personal for us, since our team is Ukrainian and our country is fighting for freedom and peace in Europe. You can help too.”

“Esports cannot stand aside from what is happening in Ukraine today – war, the deaths of innocent people, thousands in need of help,” commented Eugene Luchianenco, head of esports at WePlay Holding.

“#StreamersWithUkraine is an example of how leading representatives of esports can influence the situation and support those who require this help.”

“Reface is a buzzy app with 200M downloads, that empowers content creators to use AI/ML technologies,” added Anton Volovyk, COO at Reface. “It was launched and has been developed in Ukraine with the best ML team since 2019. We made a choice to build a product company here and almost 200 people worked every day in Kyiv office before the war.

“Now our mission is to encourage people around the world to stand with Ukraine, using all possible ways. That’s why we are excited to collaborate with the esports industry, as we believe the immersive experience gains more effect, and creative decisions help our country to fight against Russia.”

Related article: How the esports community is reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

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.