24-hour Gaming Fundraiser

On Friday 17 April from at 6pm until Saturday 18 April at 6pm, our Missions Development Manager, Bruce Lockhart, Digital Youth Work Lead, Andrew Stothard and some volunteers from our Digital Youth Work team gathered in our Head Office for a 24-hour gaming fundraiser. The whole 24 hours were steamed live on Twitch as the group and people were watching throughout the night. Some of the time you could watch the group and other times you could see the group as well as the screen they were gaming on.  For health and safety, they each had a five minute break every hour, and there was the option for quick cat naps but as a group they continuously played throughout the night!  

They made sure they were stocked up in snacks and had plenty of cozy blankets and beanbags and were delighted when our Dumfries and Galloway Regional Worker, who was watching the stream, had pizza delivered to them in the small hours. Some hilarious moments included: Bruce (who does not generally game) beating Andrew (the only person at SU Scotland who has gaming in his job description) at Mario for a whole hour, and Bruce being the last man standing in a survival game using his tactic of running away and hiding for eight long minutes because he didn’t know how to operate any of the other functions of the game.  

Andrew said: “It was funny being watched throughout the whole 24 hours by our wives, friends and colleagues who would check the live stream periodically.  Whenever anyone nodded off, they were soon caught by those watching with photos of them snoozing being sent through to our phones! What we didn’t expect was for donations to continuously come in throughout the night. The response has been incredible.” 

So far, an amazing £4295 has been donated online, with a further £1600 offline.  These generous donations will be split between Missions and Digital Youth Work. Our Community Based Missions partner with churches throughout Scotland to find missional opportunities to reach more children and young people whether these are week-long Holiday Clubs or impactful short events. Our Digital Youth Work involves finding new ways to share Jesus with young people by building community both online and in person. Our Online Communities allow SU Scotland to work with many young people on a weekly basis as they chat, text and post safely at regular events focused around gameplay.  

These additional funds will make a tangible difference to what we can offer children and young people through Missions and Digital Youth Work. All donations were very gratefully received.