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UK YouTube star Dan Middleton aka DanTDM has donated £310,000 to Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity).
The charity said in a press release that this will help fund specialist gaming equipment which will benefit hundreds of thousands of seriously ill children undergoing treatment at GOSH.
The donation by the gaming influencer, who has more than 32m followers on social media, will fund 120 TheRockinR medical-grade gaming carts for the hospital, which ‘will help GOSH Charity continue to ensure seriously ill children at GOSH can have the best childhood possible’.
The mobile carts transport gaming equipment in hospitals, making gaming accessible to all children as they undergo treatment for rare and complex diseases. For children and young people who are not able to visit one of the hospital’s play rooms due to their condition, the RockinR carts alleviate any infection control concerns and will enable patients in isolation to also enjoy the benefits of gaming.
The medical gaming carts will be accessible in every GOSH inpatient ward and outpatient department, the hospital school and weekend volunteering club.
DanTDM said: “Having worked with GOSH on and off across the years, to be able to make such a meaningful financial gift to them in an area that is very close to my heart means so much.
“Gaming has brought me a huge global community of wonderful people who look out for one another and have fun together. Being young and in hospital shouldn’t stop you having access to that community, if anything it becomes more important and I’m extremely proud to be able to help GOSH in any way I can.”
DanTDM
Dan has been a passionate charity supporter for a number of years, and has championed various initiatives for children’s causes including Make-A-Wish and BBC Children in Need, in addition to GOSH Charity. As well as sponsored streaming events, Dan has also met families through his fundraising activities, including those treated at GOSH.
To celebrate his donation, DanTDM visited the hospital to see the RockinR carts in action on Leopard ward, meeting DanTDM fan Josh, aged 12, who has been under the care of GOSH since he was a couple of days old, receiving treatment for cystic fibrosis.
“Gaming has been really important to Josh both in and out of his hospital experience. Not only did it provide a welcome distraction whilst at GOSH, but it’s also been key in ensuring Josh can keep up with his friends when they play their favourite games together, FIFA, Fortnite and Minecraft,” GOSH said.
Josh’s mum, Becky, said: “Gaming has really helped Josh throughout his hospital experience, and has been invaluable in making the time go quicker. While at GOSH, he’s socially isolated from his school friends so being able to stay connected is so important.
“It was really exciting to meet Dan today – it’s really kind of him to take the time to come and meet us in person. We feel very privileged to have access to this new equipment; it will make a real difference to children, like Josh, who are isolated whilst undergoing treatment in hospital. It’s things like this that make GOSH the magical place it is. We feel very lucky to be in a hospital that’s world-renowned and that does so much for families and children.”
On meeting Dan, Josh said: “I can’t believe I just played FIFA with someone who has 29m followers on YouTube! It’s definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”
After his GOSH visit, Dan joined around 70 people at a networking event put on by GOSH Charity’s Gaming Board, which discussed the future of gaming at GOSH and its importance in ensuring seriously ill children still get to enjoy the best childhood possible.
Gaming is one of the activities facilitated by the hospital’s Play team, which is funded by GOSH Charity and consists of around 50 Play Workers and Play Specialists.
Aoife Regan, GOSH Charity’s Director of Impact and Charitable Programmes, commented: “Gaming can help children and young people to express themselves, to get away from the difficult challenges of a long-term illness and to continue to experience childhood, even when they’re in hospital.
“We’re so grateful to DanTDM for taking the time to visit the hospital to meet some of the patients and spend time gaming with them, and I’d like to say a huge thank you for his incredibly generous donation from which we’ve been able to buy a special gaming cart for every ward at the hospital.”
In addition to the hospital’s dedicated Play team, GOSH Charity funds vital services to help protect children’s childhoods, from groundbreaking research, cutting-edge medical equipment, child-centred medical facilities and the support services children and families going through the toughest journey of their lives urgently need.
Update: In other news, DanTDM has also joined radio station ClassicFM and will be hosting a gaming music show.
Related article: UK’s first full-time Gamer-in-Residence hired to play video games with patients in Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children
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.
