Twitch community raises $90,000 for Typhoon Haiyan victims

Game livestreaming company Twitch organized a relief effort that raised $90,000 for victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

In addition, some 7,500 participants in Extra Life used the Twitch platform to collectively raise $1.22 million in donations for the year. The donations show that Twitch’s livestreaming platform can be used for more than just watching and playing games.

To help the Red Cross’ efforts to aid victims of the typhoon in the Philippines, Twitch opened a two-week pop-up store via Teespring with a 100 percent of Twitch’s profits going to charity. The store sold 6,300 limited edition shirts with a total of $82,751 being raised for the Red Cross. Twitch then donated more of its own money to make it an even $90,000.

“The Twitch community is extremely giving, especially when you look at the millions of dollars raised for charity this year using our platform,” said Emmett Shear, CEO and founder of Twitch. “So when we decided to dedicate a pop-up store for Typhoon Haiyan relief aid, we knew our community would support it, but we were still blown away by just how much support we received. Gamers definitely represent the next frontier of philanthropy.”

The Extra Life philanthropic effort raises money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Many of the participants use Twitch channels to host live charity marathons and other fundraising shows. Twitch launched in 2011 and it has more than 700,000 unique broadcaster a month serving videos to more than 45 million unique viewers a month. It has grown huge on the wave of support for pro gaming and eSports.