Over 300 Gather for St. Jude PLAY LIVE Summit

Publish date: 2024-01-14

Over 300 people from 30 countries around the world gathered in Tennessee last week for the St. Jude PLAY LIVE Summit, an annual gaming event that supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, organizers announced on Tuesday.

The summit kicks off the hospital’s annual prize season, which runs through the end of May. During this time, streamers use their platforms to raise money while earning incentives. They’ve brought in an estimated $12 million for St. Jude via the PLAY LIVE program so far.

One of the most visible streamers to raise money is Benjamin “DrLupo” Lupo, whose total fundraising for St. Jude reached $1.3 million in 2018. A 24-hour “Fortnite” stream brought in $611,000 alone.

This year, summit attendees got to tour the hospital and see what it does firsthand. They built Lego sets and played video games with St. Jude patients and participated in service projects.

“Last week we were privileged to host some of the most generous, impactful supporters in the global gaming community,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., president and CEO for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “By simply doing what they love — playing, competing, and streaming games — this powerful group from more than 30 countries is pioneering a new fundraising landscape that supports our St. Jude mission. We are grateful for each person who is logging on,streaming, gaming, sharing,watching and donating. The work they do today is defining what it means to participate in charitable giving tomorrow.”

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Video game streaming platform Twitch also received special recognition during the PLAY LIVE Summit. It was awarded the 2019 St. Jude Charity Innovation Award during a weekly livestream it broadcasts from the hospital.

Anyone interested in helping raise funds and awareness for St. Jude can sign up at stjude.org/playlive or by following @StJudePLAYLIVE on Twitter.

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