One of the UK’s top videogame streamers has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity in memory of his dad.
TheRunningManZ, whose first name is Paul and is from Suffolk, took part in a 16-hour stream to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
The streamer said his dad, Albert, had been diagnosed with dementia before he died in January 2022.
It was his fifth time doing the stream – where people watch him play computer games – for the charity and he said he was proud to have raised more than £110,800.
“My dad had dementia… he was the inspiration for these streams, but because I stream to an audience five days a week, people know me, they know my background, they know my reasons for doing it and I do this stream once per year,” he told BBC Radio Suffolk’s Wayne Bavin.
“The first one I did was in December 2021, specifically for Alzheimer’s Research UK, and since 2021 we’ve raised £330,000 in total in five streams which is kind of crazy to think about.
“I’m very proud to be able to do it. I feel lucky that I’ve grown a following that allows me to do this.”
According to Stream Charts, TheRunningManZ is the eighth most viewed streamer in the UK this year and he went full time as a streamer in 2016, typically playing the game DayZ.
His charity stream was broadcasted on both his YouTube and Twitch channels, bringing in a total of 364,000 views.
After one of his previous charity streams Alzheimer’s Research UK said “everyone was blown away by the support from Paul and his generous online community”.