SpecialEffect's One Special Day raises £300,000 for charity
The money will go towards SpecialEffect's work in creating ways for people with disabilities to experience video games
UK's SpecialEffect, a charity organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities benefit from the fun and therapeutic effects of video games, has managed to raise over £300,000 during its One Special Day charity event on September 29. Numerous companies from the games industry participated, including Supercell, EA, Unity, Rovio, Twitch and many more (complete list available here).
Mobile games industry partners and their communities raised over £250,000 of the total. Apart from the one-day event, a number of companies also contributed through game-themed events, gaming auction items and livestreams before the fundraiser. SpecialEffect had been targeting £100,000, and is shocked by the tremendous response.
"This total is way beyond all expectation. We cannot thank all our games industry partners enough for coming together to support people with disabilities," said Dr Mick Donegan, founder and CEO of SpecialEffect.
"It's an astonishing, game-changing total for us. It funds not only our lifelong one-to-one work with people who need our help, but also our collaboration with developers in making games more accessible to severely disabled gamers worldwide.
"We've had an amazing time working with our partners during this event. The games industry and their communities have our heartfelt thanks for the tremendous generosity they have shown."
SpecialEffect intends to reveal a final fundraising total at the end of October. One Special Day will take place again in 2018 on Friday, September 28. All the money raised goes towards helping people of all ages with disabilities play video games - through assessments, equipment loans and equipment modifications.