[Update]: Hbomberguy finished the stream after achieving 101% in the game. In total, he played 57 hours of Donkey Kong 64, and would raise over $340,000 in charity.

After Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared on the stream, a number of other famous celebrities and gaming personalities also joined in. Some of the bigger names include Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer, The Guardian journalist Owen Jones, YouTube Personality Natalie Wynn, actress Mara Wilson and Rebecca Heineman, Atari 2600 Space Invaders Champion who worked as a programmer on games like The Bard's Tale III.

[Original Story] The past weekend has seen a Twitch streamer's generous act for charity blow up into an international fundraiser. Harry Brewis, better known by his online handle Hbomberguy, has started a live stream with the goal to raise money for Transgender Rights Charity Mermaids UK.

Mermaids UK is a group that aims to raise awareness of gender nonconformity and gender dysphoria in children and young people. The group lobbies for improvements in professional services for transgender children and has won numerous awards over the years for their work, including the European Diversity Awards Charity of the Year 2016 and the British LGBT Awards 2018 for Outstanding Contribution to LGBT+ Life for Mermaids CEO, Susie Green.

All of this comes after the charity had some of its funding from a UK lottery suspended due to a campaign by UK TV writer Graham Lineham, creator of the Father Ted series. Lineham has been involved in several controversies regarding transgender rights and spearheaded an opposition campaign against Mermaids receiving the funding.

Hbomberguy began livestreaming a long-form playthrough of the Nintendo 64 title Donkey Kong 64 at the beginning of the weekend, with the goal of attaining a 101% on the game and help improve knowledge and information on transgender rights while supporting Mermaids. Now, over 50 hours into the game, Hbomberguy has surpassed his original goal for Mermaids, and continues to get traction after two days of nonstop streaming, raising over $230,000 at this time.

The stream has attracted international attention from gaming fans and has spread through social media with international attention my numerous celebrities. The list includes support from the likes of Matthew Mercer, Cher, Neil Gaiman, and Liam Robertson retweeting the stream in support of the charity. Along with this, several prominent figures made an appearance on the stream for a chat, including the CEO of Mermaids, Susie Green, gaming e-journalist Jim Sterling, game developer John Romero, Chelsea Manning and most notably, Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Hbomberguy and his crew will continue the livestream until the game is completed, with all money being earned being donated to charity. The full livestream can be watched here on Twitch.

Quick Take

This is a net positive, and honestly I hope more people contribute, either by finding ways to help or donate to the charity. Hbomberguy has done something wonderful here, and thanks to the support of tons of people there is now a ton of eyes on Transgender awareness and trans rights. Hbomberguy notes that folks who want to give to local groups or groups that raise awareness would also be good avenues to contribute if you feel uncomfortable giving to Mermaids.

What are your thoughts on all of this? Any plans to participate? Leave your comments below.