The Dreamscape Foundation is proving to be a gift that keeps on giving.
The Dreamscape Foundation is teaming up with the streamers of Find the Computer Room (FTCR), to raise awareness and funds for three-year-old Emily Monroe of Warren, Michigan. Emily was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma shortly after she celebrated her birthday in October.
Neuroblastoma is the most prevalent solid cancer in children and nearly half of those affected are under the age of two. Emily’s supporters have created a go fund me page at http://www.gofundme.com/g56ryw and have already raised $6,000.
Gareth Spriggs of FTCR is a family friend of the Monroe’s; Dreamscape founder and Seton Hall sophomore Joseph Sehwani has joined forces with Spriggs on this mission to help Emily.
On Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. Dreamscape’s Charity Hero and FTCR will go live, gaming for charity with special guests.
The game of the day will be the new “Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric,” which released on Nov. 11. Two voice actors from the game, Cindy Robinson (voice of Amy Rose) and Mike Pollock (voice of Dr. Eggman), comic book writer Ian Flynn and comic book artist Evan Stanley will be featured on the channels for Q&A sessions. The stream is expected to last upwards of seven hours, according to Sehwani.
Key to this effort is the incentive to donate. Sehwani said typically college students and high school students are drawn to this fundraising platform and offering some incentive will further prompt an influx of proceeds. Donors who give upwards of $20 will be entered into a raffle to win laptops donated to the Dreamscape Foundation from one of its sponsors.
Dreamscape, formerly exercising under the mission of helping those with rare disabilities and diseases, has now established its scope to ten causes: Cystic Fibrosis, LHON, cancer, HIV/AIDS, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Ebola, Autism, Down Syndrome and Usher Syndrome.
“I wanted to establish a list of impairments and illness that is not only rare, but affects children,” Sehwani said. “It is important to me to not exclude anyone from our mission, so including diseases such as cancer and HIV/ AIDS was a must.”
Sehwani said this change will not limit the foundation’s efforts in assisting those who are afflicted by disabilities or diseases beyond this realm of ten.
The Dreamscape Foundation has gone live on Twitch.TV, made it to Google for Nonprofits, and has now joined the eBay Giving Works and Amazon Smile forces to bring shoppers a charitable shopping experience.
As the holiday season is nearing, Dreamscape is seizing the season’s cheer with a toy drive. Zoetis’ Streamlink is sponsoring the drive and the bins are located at their office in Madison, N.J. Sehwani said the toys will be donated to Toys 4 Tots and distributed to local hospitals and churches.
“No one wants to be a kid that has to be sick on Christmas,” Sehwani said. “Going in and giving a child a toy and gifts—if they could just be happy in the moment that’s good enough for me.”
On this mission of giving, Sehwani is looking forward to the next opportunity to help.
“It’s a good way to meet connections, personal connections with people if they need help, I’ll lend out my hand,” Sehwani said.
Michelle Foti can be reached at michelle.foti@student.shu.edu.
