Long-time creator Sean McLoughlin, aka jacksepticeye, is no stranger to philanthropy. In his decade plus on YouTube, he's spoken out and fundraised for many movements, organisations and charities, even starting his mental health slogan, PMA (Positive Mental Attitude), after becoming more open with his audience.
Charity Streams as a holiday season tradition began with a two-day special in 2017. 2018 and 2019 saw some monthly streams as well as December events, from then on known as Thankmas, each benefitting different charities. Thankmas, beyond a blend of Thanksgiving and Christmas, has grown each year since, reaching its full form post-lockdown with events involving not just Sean and his friends, and contacts in the gaming space, but a variety of guests taking part in various comedy bits, games and reading donations.
The streams have always featured sets and the aid of a crew, but it was only last year when the team took Thankmas to the stage. Below is the trailer for this year's event on December 6, showing highlight footage from 2023's record-breaking stream for World Central Kitchen, including the calibre of guests and varying gameshow content, enough to get any would-be viewer excited. That show brought Sean's total fundraising effort over $26 million.
This year's Thankmas is returning to Sean's focus on the issue of mental health and for the first time is benefitting two organisations - Samaritans and Crisis Text Line. The event will be livestreamed and recorded, but on Thankmas's Tiltify Page, you can not only find out more about the charities, but can get tickets to be in the audience for the two shows at The Orpheum in LA. There's the 12-3pm option or 5-8pm, or both. Each show will feature different guests and activities. You can also see all the amazing individual fundraisers that will funnel into this year's goal of $6 million, with a toolkit to start your own!
At the time of writing, $25,000 has already been reached by the incredible community which gathers every year to raise money and have a great time, and that's before a single guest has taken the stage. Speaking of guests, here's the roster so far:
Some big names are making a return, including third-time guest Jack Black, with plenty of new famous faces joining Sean onstage and on stream. If you'd like to learn more about this year's Thankmas, Sean has put out two very personal videos to raise awareness about the event and the issues it hopes to combat:
And even if you can't make it to the theatre or donate online, tuning in and sharing anything to do with the event will help, using #Thankmas. Hopefully we'll see you there. Maybe, like my family, you'll make the stream part of your annual celebrations. Once again, here's a link to the Thankmas campaign.