Wounded Warrior Project Raises Nearly $120,000 During Livestreaming Charity Event
Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) recently completed its second annual Capture the Flag, presented by Verizon, and raised nearly $120,000 to power WWP programs and services and spread awareness of the organization’s mission.
Also sponsored by SteelSeries, the six-week livestreaming charity event featured 154 streamers and raised critical support through WWP’s Stream to Serve™ platform. The initiative included five teams with WWP warriors and family support members as captains, representing each branch of service: Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force.
Learn more about how you can support WWP through livestreaming.
The leader of the Army team was WWP-registered warrior Sergio Alfaro, who discussed how video games kept him connected to his family while he served overseas.
“It’s so much more than just a game,” Sergio said. “My wife and I would play games together. It was a way for us to talk to one another.”
Gaming was also an escape for Sergio; a way to get away from the stresses of his life surrounded by war, combat, and carnage.
“When you’re in Iraq and all you can see is desert around you and the ramshackle buildings, you can’t necessarily get away from that,” said Sergio. “And when you have sandbags on your windows, you remember that you get mortared once in a while. You want to forget about that and pretend it doesn’t happen. I think it helped me so much to have that reprieve and that break.”
Supporting warriors like Sergio through gaming is critically important to supporters like Verizon.
“Connections have become increasingly important over the years, and thanks to technological advancements and gaming platforms, connections for veterans have taken new heights,” said Dr. David M. Caruth, Verizon’s head of Those Who Serve & Students Marketing. “After serving, camaraderie can become challenging, but thanks to forward-thinkers like Wounded Warrior Project, and sponsorship provided by Verizon, we together helped bring veteran fellowship to the forefront. While having a virtual gaming tournament presented opportunities to collaborate again in a familiar fashion, it also gifted power through fundraising to Wounded Warrior Project, so they can do what they do best, and support our nation’s heroes.”
"Slay3K" was also one of the streamers and content creators who signed up to fundraise for WWP due to his family ties to the military.
“My father is the primary connection I have to the military,” Slay3k said. “It was something he took a lot of pride in and had told me he would have stayed in had things worked out a little differently. He and I loved discussing the aspects of military history, watching movies and documentaries about it. It was just something we had a lot of appreciation for.”
If you're interested in livestreaming and gaming and want to support injured veterans and their families, register your livestream through WWP's Stream to Serve™ campaign today.
Contact: Mattison Brooks — Communications Specialist, mbrooks@woundedwarriorproject.org, 202.969.1120
About Wounded Warrior Project
Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers — helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more.