Shaun's 'Complete it for Beat' gaming fundraising story

Shaun hosted an epic twelve hour video game fundraiser to help raise awareness and vital funds for eating disorder support. Read his story...

I’ve always wanted to do something dedicated to raising money for a charity which means a lot to me personally, so last year, I decided to do a fundraising gaming challenge, raising over £600 for Beat.

Over 1.25 million people in the UK suffer from eating disorders, many of which are completely hidden and unlike most conditions, they can stem from a multitude of reasons – whether they are genetic, biological, psychological or environmental. Raising money for Beat was a key goal for me simply because I've had my own challenging experiences with eating disorders for the vast majority of my life. Because of this, I wanted to play a part, however small or large, in helping people who had gone through similar experiences.

My personal experience with an eating disorder

From the very young age of 1, I grew up struggling to eat an incredibly large variety of foods. Meat, vegetables, fruits, eggs all fell by the wayside in favour for chips / fries, bread and snack foods and the idea of trying new foods was borderline phobia, triggering violent reactions and panic attacks even at a young age. This continued for approximately 25 years of my life, until through support and guidance from professional experts and close family & friends, I've worked to overcome the vast majority of my eating disorder to now live with a much healthier diet.

The effects that eating disorders can have, both physically and mentally, can be incredibly difficult to go through and it's very challenging to understand where to turn for support. That's why I choose to raise money for Beat, who provide dedicated support to people undergoing these potentially life-threatening challenges, as well as raise important awareness about eating disorders in the UK.

‘Complete it for Beat’

My goal was to raise £400 to support the incredible work that Beat carry out through my Twitch platform, by hosting a twelve-hour video game livestream on Saturday 16th July. I aimed to complete 12 video games consecutively across the twelve-hour period, to my Twitch community, family and friends, all to raise as much as I could, while sharing my own experiences with an eating disorder.

I’ve been overwhelmed to have raised £600 so far for charity, receiving donations from places as far as the US, Australia, Germany and Sweden. I’m hoping that this money raised will be able to hopefully impact the lives of at least one person struggling with their own eating disorder, even if just helping them start their journey to recovery.