Dan Howell and Phil Lester have raised more money than many could believe on their latest livestream.
The creators, who have been online for nearly two decades, have built quite the dedicated fanbase online. The duo created a gaming channel and even their own individual videos on YouTube. While the gaming channel was on hiatus for roughly five years, it did come back in the fall of 2023. The two have been back and mobilizing the nearly 2.8+ million subscribers.
For Lester’s recent birthday, the duo hosted a livestream on the channel with the intention of raising funds for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.
“Obviously this is Phil’s birthday, and we want the vibes to be high; this is about all of you guys and us having a nice time, and we’re going to do a variety of shenanigans, but this is [also] about something that’s more important,” Howell started at the top of the two-hour stream.
WE ARE LIVE!!! https://t.co/DHgPKFwgLc pic.twitter.com/eU2ZOTtwb9
— Phil Lester (@AmazingPhil) January 30, 2024
“The situation in Gaza is terrible. There have been over 26,000 people who have died, and 10,000 of them are children. … The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, they provide the most essential services, humanitarian aid, blankets, medical supplies, and it really makes a difference.”
Within just a period of under three minutes, the livestream ended up reaching $9,000.
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“We’re here to entertain you, and hopefully in the form of entertaining you, we’ll raise some money,” Lester chimed in.
The two-hour stream in total had a large amount of activities to help raise funds for the initiative.
The YouTubers ended up getting a birthday cake to reveal to the audience online, which they had aimed to “reveal” after surpassing $1,000. The duo ended up surpassing that goal in quite a short time.
“I’m so shocked by all of you,” Howell said, as donations came pouring in.
In addition to the cake, the stream continued with birthday gifts, answering fan questions, and even gaming.
Fans contributed as low as $5 to even large figures for the cause.
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“Everyone who donates generously, you’re showing where your heart lies and what your priorities are, and it’s a very beautiful gesture,” Howell said, mid game-play. “But to the people donating just $5 at a time, that’s what is driving us all as a community. Thank you so much.”
“I wish we could read them all out,” Lester said. “They’re just coming in so fast.”
In the end, Dan and Phil raised a total of $83,000 for the PCRF.
“Guys, I could cry,” Lester said. “That’s so incredible.”
Just 19 hours after the livestream, Dan and Phil’s channel showed a total of over $100,000 raised for the humanitarian organization.
“From a Palestinian, thank you so much Phil,” one person tweeted after the livestream. “After watching your videos for 13 years now, i know that my time was not wasted and my love was not for nothing, what you and Dan did today was monumental, thank you.”
“The stream was so fun, and I’m so proud of our community for raising so much money for the PCRF,” another fan wrote.
