while streaming the action on Twitch<\/a>.<\/p>\nAs of Nov. 19, Nelson has raised $5,670 \u2014 far exceeding his initial goal of $2,020 and five stretch goals. In 2019, Nelson raised $2,750 through Extra Life, bringing his two-year total to $8,420 for Beaumont Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n
Video games hold a special place in Nelson\u2019s heart, so being able to use that passion to help children is quite fulfilling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat comes out of this community of gamers, as we rally together and help improve the lives of future gamers, is unreal,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI\u2019m very blessed to have such a supportive community. Helping these kids play and grow just makes me smile; I wouldn\u2019t trade that feeling for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson\u2019s efforts haven\u2019t gone unnoticed in the Extra Life community. He\u2019s currently the top-ranked gamer playing for Beaumont Children\u2019s Hospital, as well as No. 3 in Michigan, No. 141 in the United States and No. 161 in the world. For raising over $5,000, Extra Life awarded Nelson a limited edition DxRacer gaming chair, which features Extra Life\u2019s logo and white and blue color scheme.<\/p>\n
What exactly goes into a hosting a 24-hour video game marathon? \u201cSo much planning,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n
He has to decide which games to play and then create a schedule for viewers and supporters. There are also donation incentives, milestone markers, raffle prizes, promotional materials for social media, food and beverages for participants and a bevy of technological preparations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of October for me is focused on two things: Halloween and preparing for Extra Life,\u201d Nelson said. Planning and organizing is a skill he hones every day in his work as a communications specialist with Detroit Mercy\u2019s Marketing & Communications Office.<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on Nelson\u2019s initial plans for Extra Life 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cI normally host groups of friends and family at the house, taking shifts as guest players throughout the 24 hours. But safety and health were my number one priority this year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe decided on four in-person players: my wife, brother, a friend and myself. All players were able to telecommunicate for work and self-isolate for 14 days prior to the event, as well as confirm a negative COVID-19 test with plans to self-isolate and test again post-event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite a small in-person group, Nelson wanted to make the day \u201cas interactive as possible.\u201d Titles such as Among Us, Fall Guys, Jackbox Party Games and Animal Crossing: New Horizons were popular inclusions and allowed for stream viewers, friends and family to play and interact with Nelson remotely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hosted each of them on Discord voice so they could support the stream, engage with the chat, and most importantly, play video games,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n
Providing an inclusive community is important to Nelson, who hosts video game and art streams throughout the year as a Twitch affiliate. During Extra Life\u2019s Game Day, Nelson entertained people of all ages and engaged with children of friends and Detroit Mercy students.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my favorite things about video games and streaming is how they can bring people together, regardless of age, ethnicity, faith, identity or disability,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI build my streams to provide a safe space of entertainment, excitement, advice, support and chill vibes for anyone who wants to tune in and hang out. I think it\u2019s important to engage with my audience, to teach them about the positive impacts of video games and philanthropy on our community. I also help younger players understand the importance of effective communication with parents and guardians. This helps establish a safety network to protect themselves while on the Internet and playing online.\u201d<\/p>\n
Year after year, Nelson is wowed by the impact video games can have on sick and injured children.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe event was an absolute success,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cOne-hundred percent of all money raised that day, including Twitch cheer bits normally donated directly to my channel, stayed local and was donated to Beaumont Children\u2019s. And it would not be possible without the love and support of my friends and family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Game Day may be over, but Nelson and other Extra Life players will continue to collect donations for Children\u2019s Miracle Network Hospitals through Dec. 31. To learn more, visit Nelson\u2019s Extra Life webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Timmy Nelson \u201911, playing video games for 24 consecutive hours is all about positively impacting sick and injured children in southeast Michigan. Nelson is among the thousands of gamers worldwide who participate in Extra Life\u2019s Game Day, an annual charity event where people marathon video games to raise money …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":5291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[12,2],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2020\/11\/timmynelsonblog_thumbnail.jpg?fit=600%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-1ng","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5289,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5286\/revisions\/5289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Timmy](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2020\/11\/timmy_nelson_truetimfoolery_full1.jpg?resize=1249%2C732&ssl=1\")
For Timmy Nelson \u201911, playing video games for 24 consecutive hours is all about positively impacting sick and injured children in southeast Michigan.<\/p>\n