How Sea of Thieves pirates teamed up with the Parkinson’s Foundation

It Sea of ThievesCommunity is filled with unexpected pleasures. From tense sloop racing to trivia nights on the deck, there are many. A group of prominent players recognized that pirates were notorious for being greedy and avarice, but they realized how to combine existing events with higher purposes. A crew of players came together to form a partnership. Sea of Thieves fans and the Parkinson’s Foundation, the nonprofit has made big strides in the streaming space — and it’s proving to be full of opportunity for the charity and its cause.

The Dread Pirate Doug is well-known in the community with his production crew. Sea of ThievesAn organization for organizing and orchestrating races like the Race of Legends. Amazing RaceIt is a competition of the kind where players drive their boats around the map, solving difficult or esoteric problems. Doug and his crew have never had a full-time job, but Race of Legends has been an enjoyable venture that has provided pirates with creative and challenging challenges. Doug’s life experience inspired him to take his platform and try to do good.

“Last year, my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and it hit me and my family pretty hard,” says Doug. “That’s when we started raising money for the Parkinson’s Foundation. Clash for A Cause was a series of events where we participated in a full day of fundraising. Sea of ThievesBack-to back events. People were extremely generous, and we raised over $30,000 in all of those different events.”

After the success of these events, the Parkinson’s Foundation, which funds research and care for those living with Parkinson’s disease, realized streaming was a fruitful new fundraising opportunity.

“We do new and nontraditional fundraising, including fitness or endurance-related fundraising, or what we call DIY — do-it-yourself fundraising, where people come up with their own events and ideas and we help them get it off the ground,” says Zachary Orner, national manager of fundraising events at the Parkinson’s Foundation. Doug started a conversation with the nonprofit, which expressed interest in collaboration, but Orner says the Parkinson’s Foundation quickly realized that the streaming world was both full of potential and incredibly complex. They were able to prepare thanks to the streamer who was on their staff.

“I started streaming about three or four years ago. At first, I just streamed, but I started to get really into charity streaming — I liked putting events together, bringing the community together,” says Michelle Scott, streaming coordinator for the Parkinson’s Foundation. Call of Duty is her history. Apex LegendsYou can also find out more about our other services. Sea of Thieves. The Parkinson’s Foundation allowed her to use her passion for a day job, and her connections to gamers like Doug proved to be a valuable asset. “I started talking to [Doug] and then reached out to a couple of other people, and we started on the ground finding those content creators who have a love of raising money for charity.”

Doug connected with the Parkinson’s Foundation, and the initiative has gone further than a single charity stream. Now, the Foundation maintains a stream team called the Parkinson’s Champions and raises funds for events on Twitch. The organization’s first event in December attracted over 4,000 viewers and raised over $16,000 for the cause.

Orner says that other charities may use streaming to raise funds. We’ve already seen similar stories, like the animal rescue shelters who used StrayFundraising for real-world cats stray cat rescue. The Parkinson’s Foundation is one of the first charities to grow substantial roots in streaming, and it has helped create an additional space without the limitations of brick-and-mortar institutions or charity races to support people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones.

“90,000 people, or more, are diagnosed with Parkinson’s every year,” says Orner. “So there’s just going to be more gamers and streamers out there who are going to become part of this community, and if we can have a space for them, we’re really excited about that.”