After being able to count on Opération Enfant Soleil when he was suffering from leukemia, a young Quebecer now wants to give back to the foundation through his passion for streaming. He also raised $100,000 last weekend, along with around sixty content creators, during a charity event.
Aged 19, Jean-Gilles Gadoury is far from having the typical past of a young man of his age. When he was just nine years old, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a very aggressive blood cancer.
Jean-Gilles Gadoury with content creator Lewislefou whom he described as a real motivator following the Second Life event! at the beginning of November where around sixty content creators came together to raise $100,000 for Opération Enfant Soleil.
Credit: Élie Meilleur, BurnyMedia
Stuck in hospital twice due to illness, the latter saw his social circle visibly diminish. So he turned to the live streaming platform Twitch, where he met those he now considers his second family.
“I was completely isolated because my immune system was on the floor and I couldn’t go out. The community on Twitch has really helped me mentally and socially,” he explains.
A few years later, he is now in his third edition at the helm of Second Life!, a live broadcast event where several Quebec content creators come together for a weekend to play games video and complete challenges to raise funds for Opération Enfant Soleil.
Credit: Élie Meilleur, BurnyMedia
The importance of giving back
The young man also indicates that it was only natural for him to give back to the foundation which had a significant impact for his family and him who, among other things, had to receive two bone marrow transplants.
“It’s thanks to people who gave and took the initiative to raise funds if I’m still here today and it’s like that for thousands of people. I think it’s the least I can do to give back now that I’m doing well.”
He also says he is happy to have been able to count on the collaboration of several popular content creators, including Lewislefou and Cocottee, well known internationally and who certainly had an impact on the amount raised.
Arianne Vallière, better known by her nickname Cocottee, streamer and proud representative of the fleur de lys among the young people of France and the rest of the Francophonie was present to participate in the event.
Credit: Élie Meilleur, BurnyMedia
Heart on hand
He also hopes that this impact will “change the opinion that many have of content creators” and show that they too are capable of having a positive impact within society.
“It’s not just young people filming themselves and collecting money on the internet. For many, it’s their full-time job and for them, it’s not a weekend off. Instead, they donated their entire salary to the foundation.”
“Despite that, no one arrived with a baby and thought they were going to lose money. On the contrary, they were all happy to be there and they gave everything with the sole goal of raising as much money as possible. They really wear their hearts on their sleeves,” he wanted to emphasize.
After having completely shattered the initial objective by more than $40,000, Jean-Gilles Gadoury says he is already pumped up for the next edition of the event, scheduled for November 2025.
