Castro Raises More Than $200k For COVID-19 In 28-Hour Charity Stream Event

ATLANTA, April 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Acclaimed FIFA streamer Edwin "Castro" Castro raised more than $200k in a 28-hour, online charity stream for three charities. The event, entitled #FkCovid19, took place last week and included a $100k donation from Castro himself. Softgiving provided the fundraising platform used to raise the funds, which supported Direct Relief, GlobalGiving and No Kid Hungry in the fight against COVID-19 now, and in recovery after.

"I wanted to use my platform and our community for something positive." Castro said, "so many people that watch my stream, that I see in my chat every day, have been messaging me saying that they have been affected by this. I wanted to show that, no matter how tough times can get, if we all come together, we can overcome the negativity and fear this situation is causing." Over 5,300 individual donors contributed to the campaign. 

Castro continued: "For me to sacrifice 28 hours of my time to help raise over $200k is an easy given. The amount of meals, equipment and medical help that can be donated to help save lives is what's motivating for me."

Castro conducted the campaign on the fundraising platform Softgiving, which also provided a $5k donation.

"I can't emphasize how awesome it was for Softgiving to create this campaign for me on such short notice. Setting up and linking the page to my stream was simple, and the website made it easy to donate," Castro added.

"Castro is an accomplished and beloved streamer in his community, but he also has a heart of gold," said Softgiving Founder and CEO Matt Pfaltzgraf. "We all want to do our part to help in any way possible. All of us at Softgiving are so happy to be able to offer our services for free to anyone who wants to hop online and lead a fundraising initiative of their own. We hope lots of people will be inspired to follow Castro's lead."

"Direct Relief is exceedingly grateful for the generous support of Castro and his community — this support will be put to immediate use, helping safeguard nurses and doctors on the frontline by equipping them with the protective gear they need," said Direct Relief Vice President of Communications Tony Morain. "This is an example of humanity at its best, and that's precisely what is needed in this moment as we all face this historic challenge."

"We were excited to receive such an unexpected and generous donation from Castro and his community. Those funds will help us provide vulnerable kids with nutritious food during this time of crisis, and as we support them during the recovery phase," said No Kid Hungry Associate Director of Revenue Innovation Carla Warner. "It's been amazing to see the diverse ways the livestream community is supporting our work."

To continue donating to Castro's #FkCovid19 efforts, visit fkcovid19.org and make a contribution, or create a Softgiving campaign to lead your own fundraising event. 

ABOUT SOFTGIVING
Headquartered in Atlanta, Softgiving makes it easy for influencers to fundraise for their favorite causes in a fast, convenient, lifestyle-based way. As the first charity streaming platform with a 0% Platform Fee, Softgiving is committed to raising more money for more nonprofits in order to make an even greater global impact. For more information, visit softgiving.com and follow the company on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

SOURCE Softgiving Inc.

Related Links

https://softgiving.com