‘Destiny’ Community Raises Over $540,000 For St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
On September 9, 2014, lives were changed. It was a Tuesday and Bungie, famous game developer of the series, Halo, dropped their next title. Destiny” was described as a first-person shooter game that takes place on multiple planets where players encounter new species, races, and equipment. When the game released, it didn’t take long before it made national headlines in the video game community. After Halo‘s success, the odds of Destiny taking off were very good.
Needless to say, nearly two years later, it has become a worldwide phenomenon with arguably the greatest community in the video game streaming world. Twitch.TV is a streaming service that showcases video game players from across the world. That community referenced above is the Destiny community, which is spearheaded by King Gothalion, Professor Broman, Teawrex, as well as many other players.
In other words, the aforementioned men and women promote inclusion.
Now, video games still contain this stigma of being just that, a video game. Rarely do they reach out into the mainstream and make an impact. Madden and Call of Duty are two examples who have.
However, Destiny is making strides that have truly never been seen before.
Several months ago, Gothalion, Broman, and KMagic 101 announced the second-annual “Destiny Con” event. It is a place where fans of the famed video game could get together, converse, and collectively enjoy something they all find a passion in. Preceding the event was a seven-day marathon of Destiny on the event’s Twitch channel. All of the donations went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
To put it into perspective, the channel averaged over 2,000 viewers simultaneously for all seven days. Donation goals were continuously set by the streamers as the community came together for one common goal; to reach them.
At the tail-end of the event, Broman was the streamer to close out the charity marathon. According to CNBC, the “Destiny” charity marathon raised over $500,000.
On Twitter, Professor Broman was able to get a final number that surpassed their original goal by over $100,000.
After all the e-checks have cleared for the final block our total donation to @StJude for DCC was $544,622.31!
— ProfessorBroman (@Professorbroman) August 30, 2016
Over midway through the event, St. Jude announced the “Destiny” charity marathon was the biggest-single gaming event in St. Jude history. The “Destiny” community doubled the previous record.
A combination of dedicated fans, hard-working people, and the new expansion of Destiny coming out in the next month created history for millions of children seeking help.
Reactions to “Destiny Community Con” were filled with celebration, happiness, and joy. That’s where this competitive video game failed to meet the negative stigma attached to it. In a world where competitions breed frustration, Destiny found a way to overcome the negativity thrown its way.
Broman, Gothalion and KMagic 101 aren’t the only ones who made “Destiny Community Con” happen. It took a group of passionate people who wanted to do good in the world by the power of inclusion and gaming.
Destiny may not even be an extension of reality like Madden or NHL, but they have one thing that video game communities tirelessly strive for.
The Destiny community is a special one that feels like a family from an outsider’s perspective. Judging by the success “Destiny Community Con” attained, a family it certainly can be called.
Event directors have announced “Guardian Con,” which will take place in 2017.
[Image via twitch.tv/destinycommunitycon – used with permission]
