Does it remind you of something?
This last month has been a pretty incredible one for giving. I know charity events happen all the year round with some occurring monthly, but there’s something about this time of year that makes it feel really special. I’m not sure whether it’s just the historical values of events and telethons, but this year has been really special for it.
For us in the UK, it was the BBC’s first Children in Need last month without Terry Wogan and whilst the content and operations of this year’s show divided opinion online and I’m sure offline too, I won’t deny that the tributes were moving to a man who gave it his all since day 1 and the new award given is a great lasting tribute in honour and memory of the attitude and drive he gave to the cause. We also had bonfire night in early November with many events around the UK raising money through these events to go to charities too.
In the last month I was fortunate to have time to see the YouTube based charity livestream by YouTuber Markiplier and co for the US based support platform Crisis Text Line which raised over US $110k, as well seeing as a large portion of the network he’s under, Revelmode, who held a stream including him and fellow network YouTubers Pewdiepie, Emma Blackery and Jacksepiticeye raising over $1.3m for the charity (RED) whom are dedicated to funding research in the fight to end AIDS and dropping on when I could on the massive 48hr livestream by John and Hank Green and co, better known by their YouTube name ‘vlogbrothers’ and famous Project For Awesome, which I had previously heard of years ago, big only found out what it actually was last year and got the opportunity to catch it a couple of hours in onwards this year. This project raised over $2m this year (at the time of writing) in its 10th anniversary, most of which will go to user submitted and voted for charities in grants for the top voted ones (the remainder going to their nominated partners for the year) in the joint fight to help end “World Suck”.
I also know they’ll be many more events coming particularly with many carol services being charity oriented as well as well as the work of organisations such as the Salvation Army amongst many others giving up their time to help those in need this Christmas not to feel alone or to suffer in silence.
With events like these, it’s hard to ignore in times like these that amongst all the hate and uncertainty many of us are facing there us still humanity out there working hard to keep people alive and either well or on the way to being so and it gives us hope that, as Albus Dumbledore would put it that, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”.
Happy Sunday everyone.
Mike