A fundraiser for digital street workers

Reaching young people where they are… This is the mission that the Virtual Guardians Foundation set itself in 2018.

Six years later, the non-profit organization travels the web through the channels of content creators on the Twitch and Discord platforms to help people in distress.

I often draw parallels with a real street workerillustrates its president and founder, François Savard. But instead of picking up a ball and going to play in a park, we are going to use video games to connect with young people who are isolating at home. We work with around a hundred Quebec and Franco-Canadian broadcastershe explains.

The foundation is organizing a fundraiser this weekend to benefit its digital social worker program, present online every evening between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. It is still struggling to find funding to ensure the viability of its service offering.

A Stream-O-Thon is the same thing as a telethon, but it takes place directly on Twitch. Broadcasters, influencers and streamers will broadcast all weekend on their channels, then, together, collectively, we will raise funds for the Foundation’s cause.

According to Mr. Savard, the needs are dire and would require the expansion of his organization’s services. This is why he hopes to reach the goal set at $60,000. That’s about what we’re going to look for on average, approximately, every year, but the most important thing is to raise awarenesshe recalls.

During the first eight months of 2024, the Virtual Guardians Foundation claims to have carried out 1,274 virtual interventions, particularly concerning the psychological distress, loneliness, isolation and mental health of users.

Insta-videographer Karell Guilban, known as RubyCat22 on the Twitch platform, collaborates with the Virtual Guardians Foundation by participating in fundraising and hosting social workers on her channel.

That’s what Virtual Guardians are there for. They are equipped. They have the training. They will equip people. I find, I have seen a difference, that people confide less negatively, if I may say so, in our chats. I imagine it’s related to that tooshe said.

She believes that the anonymity made possible on virtual discussion platforms gives users confidence to confide in themselves and breaks down the taboos surrounding mental health.

The Stream-O-Thon continues all weekend in Saint-Apollinaire, in Chaudière-Appalaches.