During the month of September, Stephen Works of SpringSims and his gaming team the Spring Squad set out to raise $2,000 for our Education Program while playing the Electronic Arts game The SIMS and streaming it live on Tiltify. To date, they have fundraised nearly $8,000. We sat down with Stephen to talk about the gaming community and why he decided to partner with Hope for Haiti:
Can you tell us about Spring Sims, and how long have you been in the gaming world?
I started SpringSims as a way to express my passion for The Sims and content creation through storytelling. When I was young, around the age of four, I began my gaming journey with The Sims 1; my love for games grew further.
What’s been the most significant thing you’ve learned since being involved in the gaming and streaming world?
The most significant achievement that I learned from gaming is that you meet like-minded people who share the same passion as me, such as building a community and sharing their passion for gaming. When it came to streaming, my community (Spring Squad) and I have all have grown as a family with similar community values and a safe place we can hang out together.
Why did you decide to partner with Hope for Haiti? What about Haiti and the Haitian people resonates with you?
I was thinking about hosting a new charity stream campaign to do after holding fundraisers for St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where I raised over $4,000 in May and over $2,500 for Color for Change in June. I knew that kids were going back to school soon in August and September. I thought back to the time in 2010 when I was in eighth grade, I wanted to host a charity event, but I didn’t have experience in charity fundraising or how best to help. Fast forward ten years later, and I came across Hope for Haiti, a fantastic organization whose mission is similar to mine. It made sense to reach out to talk about a possible Back to School charity event hosted on Twitch. We’d raise money for the kids in Haiti as I also get ready to go back to school.
When thinking about Haiti and the Haitian people, they are all about helping each other in their community. As I said before, community and building a safe place for others is my passion.
How do you think the gaming and streaming world can have a positive impact?
Gaming and streaming communities are growing every day. New individuals are looking to give back to communities to make a positive impact in the world, especially during times of struggle. No matter how big or small someone’s community is, they can help make a difference. Every dollar amount counts, and even when you can’t donate, spreading the word to your friends and family about it is another great way to help a charity.
What excites you the most about this campaign?
I’m excited about sharing my passion for Haiti with my community and show them how Hope for Haiti helps the Haitian community.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?
Be on the lookout for future content from me on my Twitter as I have exciting projects I’ve been working on for the past few months that I can’t wait to share.
It’s not too late! Tune into Stephen’s Back-to-School streams on his Tiltify campaign page here, and follow him on YouTube here.