When the British video game/entertainment company The Yogscast first talked about Jingle Jam 2020, according to company founder Lewis Brindley during a livestream, they had considered canceling the charity livestream event this year.
After all, the worldwide Covid-19 panic over a virus with a 99.7% survival rate, disintegrating economies because of it, and more people unemployed than at any time in recent history, and The Yogscast must have wondered if they could raise any reasonable amount of money for charity this year.
Fast forward a few months to late last night and the end of the two weeks of The Yogscast’s Jingle Jam 2020 — yes, just two weeks this year instead of the usual full month — and The Yogscast’s Jingle Jam 2020 has raised more money in those two weeks than they did during Jingle Jam 2019 in a month.
Now, if that isn’t a pretty astounding feat by the amazing lads and lasses at The Yogscast, I don’t know what is.
How much did The Yogscast’s Jingle Jam 2020 raise?
As of this morning, December 15th at 9 am, via Tiltify, The Yogscast’s Jingle Jam 2020 has raised £2,120,590.00 between December 1st and December 14th, 2020.
Compare that to last year’s Jingle Jam, which was held on the website Humble Bundle, with that event’s final total of $2,739,167.07 and, when you compare British pounds to American dollars, you get this —
According to the exchange rate site Xe.com with their mid-market rates, The Yogscast’s Jingle Jam 2020 has raised the equivalent of $2,819,092.73.
In other words, approximately $79,925.66 more than last year. IN TWO WEEKS RATHER THAN IN A MONTH.
So, can I please take the liberty on behalf of the tens of thousands of people who donated to the livestream event, and say a HUGE congratulations to The Yogscast for Jingle Jam 2020.
These guys have been my favorite YouTube gamers since I discovered them 10 years ago, and Jingle Jam has become an event that makes my Christmas, and hundreds of thousands of other people’s, just better.
In 2020, not only did The Yogscast Jingle Jam give me and so many others many many hours of hilarity and fun, it also raised a massive amount of money for charity.
In 2020. A year that will go down in history as one full of more shit than not.
(Continue reading below, and watch highlights from Jingle Jam, after the video below from Jingle Jam 2019 showing the amount raised back then…)
Charities that will benefit from The Yogscast Jingle Jam 2020
The charities that will receive substantial donations from Jingle Jam 2020, and don’t forget every penny raised goes to them, are:
Access Sport
British Games Institute
Call of Duty Endowment
ILGA
Mental Health Foundation
One25
Open Bionics
Safe In Our World
Special Effect
The Grand Appeal
War Child
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
You can find out exactly how much money each charity will get on the Jingle Jam 2020 Tiltify page.
You can also watch any of the Jingle Jam 2020 livestreams you may have missed on the guys’ Yogscast Live YouTube channel. Even though I watched at least half of them live, I am now currently binge-watching all of them.
Special Note: And a note to The Yogscast about Tiltify, please, please, please use them again next year.
The platform is easy to use, and as we can now see having all the games displayed on Day 1 of Jingle Jam 2020 certainly didn’t hurt fundraising much! If anything, it might have helped it.
They are also an excellent company whose main goal in life is not just to sell more games, but instead to actually make a positive difference in the world. Especially for charities that help so many millions of others.
Edit: Since this article went live, The Yogscast’s Lewis Brindley has released a video with an updated total — $2,841,000 — and a reminder that that means, in 10 years of doing these Christmas fundraisers, they have now raised over $20 million. Amazing work!
Watch that new video below as well.
I am a Brit-American journalist, former radio DJ at 97X WOXY, and Founder/CEO of Leo Sigh. I’m also obsessed with music, anime, manga, and K-dramas. Help!