This holiday season, Save the Children is set to roll out its very first gaming‑focused fundraising initiative, a live‑streamed event called Save Point. The concept emerged from a broader ambition to deepen the organization’s connection with the worldwide gaming community, according to senior fundraising manager Fiona Baxter, who spoke to GamesIndustry.biz about the project. "Save Point was born out of a wider desire to engage more with the gaming community," Baxter said. "It gives us a platform to reach gamers not only through formal partnerships but also through individual supporters who might not be able to take part in traditional charity challenges like marathons.
A gaming marathon is far more accessible, and it showcases the unique contributions that a different type of supporter can make." The charity has teamed up with popular online content creator and Twitch streamer TheKapFantastic, who earlier in the year helped raise more than £5,000 for Save the Children through his own channel. Baxter emphasized that the partnership is just the beginning of a longer‑term strategy to nurture relationships with gamers and streamers beyond the two‑day event.
"It would be incredible to reach more people in this community with information about the work we do and why it matters," she explained. "I’ll consider the event a huge success if we walk away with a fresh crew of supporters who want to game for us again because of the experience they’ve had." Because this is Save the Children’s first foray into a gaming‑centric fundraiser, Baxter highlighted the learning potential inherent in the experiment.
"There are a lot of learning opportunities in this event. This is our first time doing this type of fundraiser, so the feedback we get will be invaluable and help us shape bigger and better gaming events year‑on‑year," she noted.
Baxter also praised gamers and streamers as the "unsung heroes of fundraising," pointing out that the gaming world is "setting a new, innovative standard" for charitable support. She described the gaming audience as a group united by a love of stories, imagination, and the escape that interactive play offers. By channeling that passion into tangible, real‑world impact, the sector can demonstrate just how powerful and influential the gaming community can be when it rallies behind a cause. Save Point forms part of Save the Children’s broader campaign, "The One Delivery That Matters," which launches in November 2026.
The campaign seeks to shift public attention from traditional holiday gifts to the essential supplies that many children will be waiting for this Christmas—items such as nutritious food, life‑saving medicine, warm clothing, and a safe place to sleep. Baxter underscored the stark contrast between the usual consumer expectation of receiving a package at the tap of a screen and the grim reality for millions of children who need those deliveries to survive.
"Absolutely anything you could think of can be delivered right to your door at the tap of a screen," she said. "But for millions of children this Christmas, it’s not toys or treats they’re waiting for – it's the deliveries that will save lives and protect childhoods." The Save Point event is scheduled for December 5‑6, 2026. Participants can sign up by registering their interest through the provided link, after which they will receive guidance on how to set up and run a fundraising livestream. The charity hopes that by empowering individuals to stream their gameplay while encouraging donations, they can tap into a vast, engaged audience that might otherwise remain untouched by conventional fundraising methods.
Beyond the immediate financial goal, Save Point aims to foster a lasting community of gamer‑advocates who will continue to champion the charity’s mission throughout the year. By integrating gaming culture—its storytelling, competitive spirit, and collaborative ethos—into the fabric of charitable work, Save the Children hopes to create a replicable model that other nonprofits can adopt. The organization envisions future events that might involve e‑sports tournaments, charity raids in massively multiplayer online games, or collaborative challenges across multiple streaming platforms.
In the words of Baxter, the initiative is a testbed for innovation: "We want to see how far we can push the boundaries of what a fundraiser looks like in the digital age. If we can turn a few hours of gameplay into thousands of pounds of aid, then we’ve proven that the power of play can be harnessed for profound, lasting change." Overall, Save Point represents a bold experiment at the intersection of philanthropy and interactive entertainment. It seeks to demonstrate that the gaming community, often stereotyped as isolated or purely recreational, can become a formidable force for good when given the right platform and incentives.
By aligning the excitement of live streaming with the urgent needs of children worldwide, Save the Children hopes to set a precedent that will inspire similar initiatives across the charitable sector for years to come.