Yahoo Lifestyle Muscular Dystrophy Association is streaming on Twitch to raise funds
It will feature 'League of Legends,' 'Call of Duty,' 'Fortnite' and other games.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is hosting a weekly streaming event entitled “MDA Let’s Play For A Cure” featuring some big-name gamers on Twitch. It aims to drive awareness and raise funds for research to develop treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS and over 43 related neuromuscular diseases. The Association launched its Let’s Play initiative a year ago, but its gaming streams have become a more significant source of funding now that it can’t hold in-person events due to the pandemic. As MDA President and CEO Lynn O’Connor Vos explains in a statement:
“We started MDA Let’s Play over a year ago to give our community a place where they can have both independence and fun with friends in an open, inclusive and safe space. Since then, we’ve seen the momentum of gaming for good within our own community – and in the power to raise funds for non-profits. Funding is critical right now in the time of COVID-19 as many of our in-person events are not possible, which is why we’re excited about the potential of MDA Let’s Play for a Cure. We are grateful for the generosity of the gaming community, who are helping raise awareness and support for people living with neuromuscular diseases.”
Let’s Play for a Cure has actually already started. The first two streams took place on September 12th and 26th, but the Association has more events planned over the next few Saturdays. On October 3rd, MDA will broadcast a three-to-four stream featuring League of Legends with LoL esports personalities Voyboy and Trick2g, among other notable players. Call of Duty is taking center stage on October 10th with five-time Counter Strike World Champion missharvey. On October 17th, MDA will host a Fortnite tournament that will stream for four to six hours. All these events begin at 7PM Eastern.
The multi-week event is going out with a bang on October 24th with a six-to-ten hour gaming marathon hosted by Zedd, who streamed for the association on the 26th. MDA is also bringing back missharvey and other guests who’ll drop by throughout the streamathon, which kicks off at 2PM Eastern.
