The spirit of charity – Millions raised by We Gamers Love

In September, the first We Gamers Love event was held in Taiwan. The online fundraising platform invited 100 well-known gamers to a 3-day, 30-hour real-time relay broadcast of gaming. During the event, the audience simply hit a button on the real-time web page to donate money to charitable groups, allowing people to enjoy live gaming and do good deeds at the same time.

At the start of the event, the host invited members of charitable organizations to take part in a friendly competition with event representatives. Life coach, Huang Xiao-zhi (黃筱智) from the Cerebral Palsy Association said that initially she had no interest in playing video games but after having a go realized “all the pressure of school just drained away.” However, many Taiwanese parents are worried about their kids becoming too engrossed in video games and abandoning schoolwork. Therefore, by bringing gaming and charity together the event hopes that it can reverse the average person’s negative impression of video games and present a more positive side.

The 3-day gaming extravaganza raised over NT$1 million, which highlights the formidable force of the gaming community. It is hoped that the continued used of Internet technology can turn virtual games into a vehicle for good in society.

以下為中英文對照

  亞洲首場電玩實況募款 「We Gamers Love」9月底在台灣登場。線上募資平台邀請百位知名遊戲實況主，進行三天30小時多款遊戲接力直播。觀眾只要點擊實況頁面上的按鈕，就能直接捐款給公益團體，享受實況的同時，也能做愛心。

   活動開場時，主持人也邀請公益團體成員與主辦單位代表展開友誼賽。財團法人腦性麻痺基金會生命講師黃筱智說，其實一開始並不打算玩遊戲，但玩了之後發現「在學校的壓力被釋放。」在台灣，許多家長都會擔心孩子過度沉迷在電玩中，因而荒廢了課業。這次的活動也希望藉由電玩結合公益扭轉一般人對於電玩的負面印象，讓民眾看見電玩不同的一面。

  活動三天下來，募款金額高達百萬元，讓民眾見識到遊戲社群的力量，也期望未來能繼續透過網路科技，讓虛擬的遊戲化為實質助力。