Henfield dad holds 24 hour Pokémon live stream on YouTube for children’s charity

Matt Cullimore has raised more than £1,100 for Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, a charity he first started supporting last year when his partner, Jasmine Hill, gave birth to their son, Logan, two months premature.

While Logan was being taken care of in the Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU) at the Royal Alex, Matt became more aware of the work of the staff and Rockinghorse.

He said: “It was a really difficult time for all of us but the care, equipment, staff and support given to Logan was incredible and I knew how well cared for he was.

“Before Logan was born I wasn’t aware of the Rockinghorse Children’s Charity but while I was in the hospital with Logan I noticed the logo all around the TMBU and found out more about the amazing support they provide to the hospital. It really made me realise what wonderful work they do, and we were all so appreciative.”

Since this time, Matt has been keen to raise money for the charity and draw attention to the work they do. But this time he wanted to undertake something he had never tried before .

He started live streaming his on a Friday, June 26, at 10am and finished the following day at the same time.

During the stream his 2,000 viewers were able to post messages of support, contribute to the charity and take part in live prize draws.

He said: “This stream was one of the biggest challenges I have ever taken on but quickly became one of the proudest moments for me in my short YouTube career.

“I started planning this stream over three months ago, preparing it along with building the prizes and finding sponsors. Once the stream started and the donations came rolling in the nerves quickly went away.”

Following Matt’s success, Rockinghorse is looking for other gamers to set up their own ‘Game for Rockinghorse’ live stream to support the charity.

Live stream gaming uses online platforms such as YouTube or Twitch to view both the game and the gamer in real-time. During a fundraising stream, the streamer plays their chosen game while promoting the charity to their followers and urging them to donate.

Players can also add a prize draw or raffle to their live stream to really boost those donations.

Lucy Pond, challenge events manager for Rockinghorse, said: “Gaming is hugely popular at the moment and it’s really easy to use this as a way of raising much needed funds for charity.

“Thousands of people regularly enjoy gaming marathons with friends and family, so we thought it would be a great idea to ask people to use their platforms to help us fundraise!

“And if there are people who are interested in taking part but aren’t sure exactly how to set up their own live stream, Matt has kindly provided Rockinghorse with an instruction video for our website to explain the process and get the most out of their gaming session.”

For more information, visit www.rockinghorse.org.uk or email Lucy Pond, challenge events manager at Rockinghorse, on [email protected]

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