Steve Wallace took his love of online gaming to a new level when he recently organised his third 12-hour livestream for charity, raising over £3,000 in memory of his friend’s daughter, who lived with myotonic dystrophy and died a few years ago. Steve explains how the idea for the fundraiser came about and why he wanted to support us.
‘Ramaganza’ online gaming marathon in memory of friend’s daughter
I’ve been playing World of Tanks for many years now and even started working with the developers to produce content for the game – helping to develop techniques and strategies for players. It’s a warfare-themed game that predominantly involves shooting, but I came up with a strategy that utilised ramming into tanks as its primary attribute, with firepower being secondary.
“It gave a new dimension to the gaming experience and led to the idea of a ‘Ramaganza’ charity challenge!”
I organised one gaming charity fundraiser for a local hospice in memory of a friend, but the two ‘Ramaganza’ streams in November 2024 and December 2021 have been for Muscular Dystrophy UK inspired by my friend, Alfred, who is our head gaming moderator and the backbone of ‘Ramaganza’.
I’ve known Alfred for around 10 years and despite having never met in person, we’re close friends. When he told me about his daughter, Samantha, and everything she went through living with myotonic dystrophy before she died a few years ago, I wanted to do something to help. It’s a condition that needs more attention and funding to help find treatments.
Our 12-hour ‘Ramaganza’ had around 400 regular viewers during the livestream and thousands at certain points. Thanks to my relationship with the game’s developers, we were able to offer codes to streamers to encourage them to play alongside us and build the community. I made a personal donation of £150, but the rest (just under £3,000) came from people donating via my JustGiving page during the livestream.
I believe at the heart of fundraising is the desire to do something to help others.
“I’m glad I could do something to help a cause close to my friend’s heart and hopefully help others who are living with muscular dystrophy.”
A gaming fundraiser is an easy way to support a cause you believe in and have fun at the same time. If you do something you enjoy, other people will enjoy it too!
Steve, his friends, and other streamers raised £3,109 with Ramaganza 2024, and this follows the £3,121 raised in 2021 during the first livestream event they did for us – both in memory of Samantha.
Inspired by Steve's story?
From board game nights and pub chess matches to gaming marathons, pool tournaments, and quiz nights—pick your favorite game or try something new. Start a game challenge and help raise funds while having a great time!
