KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – He’s known as ThaBeast721 on the game streaming website Twitch and he was a beast at fundraising for the West Virginia chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Tyler Durham is ThaBeast721′s real name. He’s from Kanawha County, West Virginia. He hosted a 12 hour live stream of him playing the game Super Mario Maker 2 in mid-December as a fundraiser for the organization. Tyler talked about losing his grandmother to the disease during the stream and asked followers to donate. His 77,000 followers donated nearly $30,000.
Chrissy Gerard with the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association says Tyler’s gaming stream was one of the top five fundraisers across their nation for the organization.
Tyler’s initial goal was to raise $10,000 dollars. “It blew it out of the water. It blew all expectations, ” said Tyler. He died his hair purple, the color for Alzheimer’s awareness, after he met his goal.
Followers from around the globe watched Tyler’s stream and contributed including people from Canada, Australia, and Japan. The effort raised money and awareness for the debilitating disease. Alzheimer’s claims patient’s memories and the ability to care for themselves.
“In the end the care comes down to the family because there is not enough people to care for those that have it, ” Tyler said, “It feels so good to that I was able to use this platform to make such a big impact locally.”
His live stream was archived on YouTube. Donations are still being accepted for the fundraiser until August 31, 2022. Tyler says he’s considering doing another live stream gaming marathon for the Alzheimer’s Association.
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