A Chain Reaction of Good: How One Streamer Spread Joy to Kids
Shawn, or Sas8jr as he’s known on Twitch, stood up on stage at the local fundraising event he organized in Upstate New York for the third year. Purple and blue stage lights bounced off the brick-walled interior and hundreds of attendees in the crowd.
“Can I have Lucas’ family come up on stage please?” Shawn said.
Lucas was the 12-year-old nephew of his good friend, who had passed away from leukemia earlier that year.
Shawn brought Lucas’ family a custom-made wooden flag to honor his memory. The flag was adorned with an orange stripe to symbolize Lucas' battle with leukemia, and multiple logos: Shawn’s charity fundraising team Good Cause Crusaders, Starlight Children’s Foundation, and Lucas' ‘Forever 12’.
Just as Lucas' family was about to walk away, Shawn stopped them in their footsteps.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “We’re not done yet. I have one more big surprise.”
He rolled out a picture of a Starlight Nintendo Switch Gaming Station, the same console that Lucas played with at the hospital. Shawn and the local community had fundraised enough money to deliver a Starlight Gaming Station to the children’s hospital that Lucas was treated at.
“Normally, as the fundraiser, my name would go on the Gaming Station sticker,” Shawn said. “But in honor of Lucas, we’re going to put his name on it.”
Lucas’ mom broke down in tears. Cheering and clapping filled the room. Joy, a sense of togetherness and hope spread to everyone in the crowd. Shawn felt an indescribable feeling of warmth that came from doing good.
“I was very happy for the family to understand that they’re not alone in this,” Shawn reminisced. “It just shows how much we can actually make a difference even with the smallest gesture.”
Special moments like these are what motivate Shawn each day to make a difference.
A Simple Question
Shawn's journey all started with him asking one question: what can I do?
Shawn deeply resonates with Starlight’s mission because of personal experience. In 2020, Shawn lost his mother to leukemia. He vividly remembers the difficulty and struggles he went through.
“Seeing what my mom went through and what we went through as a family put things in a very different perspective and trying to imagine a kid going through it ... The kids don’t understand why they can’t do this or that or why they’re always sick.”
- Shawn
Shawn was moved to donate to his friend’s Stream for Starlight charity fundraiser on Twitch. Seeing the impact his friend was able to make, Shawn was inspired to try and make a difference. “What can I do to try and do what he does?” Shawn asked himself.
Shawn started doing his own Stream for Starlight fundraising campaigns. He worked with the DJ community on Twitch, coordinating a 3-day, 24-hour stream, fundraising as much as they can. One year, they raised $10,000 with Shawn as the top fundraiser. They were able to place Starlight Gaming Stations at the hospital his mom was treated at.
“This has really given me a lot of purpose and direction. The fight to make a difference.”
- Shawn
A Full Circle Moment
Most recently, Shawn got to see the impact of his fundraising at his local children’s hospital. Shawn and Starlight delivered a pallet of toys from Starlight for the kids – LEGOs, matchbox cars – to the playroom. They wheeled in two Gaming Stations Shawn had fundraised to deliver too.
Shawn instantly saw the change in the patients and families who entered.
One boy entered the playroom wearing a mask, and Shawn could tell he was lethargic and gloomy. But as soon as he saw the toys and gaming stations, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“He said, ‘Wait, we get to play with the toys and the gaming stations?’” Shawn reminisces. “I saw pure amazement on the little boy’s face. Even through the mask there was just an ear-to-ear smile.”
The boy’s parents were overwhelmed and comforted by Shawn’s kindness. Shawn didn’t even know them. Still, he showed them that someone else does care and wants to help.
“It helps the parents to see their kid laugh and smile, and that’s something that a kid should be doing, not sitting in a hospital bed.”
- Shawn
Shawn got to see firsthand the impact his fundraising and Starlight’s programs can make. It was just the fuel he needed to keep making a difference.
“No words can describe how much it meant to me to see pure joy, laughter and excitement in the kids in a dark time," Shawn shares.
An Outpouring of Community Spirit
Shawn’s passion to give back has inspired a ripple-effect of kindness in his community.
“I’ve had people come up to me and go, ‘how can I do something?’” Shawn shares.
As his annual Starlight fundraising event was coming around, Shawn empowered others with what they could do to make an impact on their local community.
With the help of five other people, Shawn reached out to local businesses to see if they would donate raffle gift baskets for the fundraising event.
Generosity overflowed - local businesses from jewelry shops, construction companies and race teams - donated $7,000 and three truckloads worth of prizes! Prizes included everything from hotel stays, gift cards to restaurants, and even a 75-inch Samsung TV.
“I really pushed the issue this year of the community because it’s local to us. We can help make a difference in our community.” - Shawn
After the event, they raised close to $11,000! Shawn wants to keep this tradition of making a difference with the local community every year. “It extends the branch that Starlight extends to me,” Shawn says.
Make a Difference for Kids During the Holidays
When asked what comes to mind when he thinks of the holidays, Shawn says “deep down, it’s a lot about family and coming together...”
This season, thousands of kids have been hospitalized. Rather than gathering with family and loved ones, they will spend their holidays in the hospital.
You can add joy and cheer when they need it most by donating to deliver Starlight programs.
Come together with hundreds of other good-hearted people and make a difference for kids. Your donation helps us impact kids in your local hospital and extend our reach to kids in rural towns, big cities and everywhere in-between.
Every single dollar makes a difference.
“People always say, ‘I feel like a dollar isn’t enough, but I don’t have more than that,” Shawn shares. “But if you get 100 people in a room, and everybody donates a dollar, it makes a massive impact.”
Why bring holiday magic to children’s hospitals? Hear what Shawn has to say:
“After they make their first donation, they’ll understand how great it feels to help make a difference, and that they are a kid’s hero. They are the reason a kid gets to smile.”
- Shawn
Streamers Making an Impact
Learn how streamers and their community come together to bring happiness to hospitalized kids.
