COV-AID™ 10-Hour Streaming Charity Event on Giving Tuesday to Benefit Boys & Girls Clubs Of America
Press Release – Updated 5/4/2020
Giveaways to Include Signed Gloves from MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz; Signed Gloves from Boxer Evander Holyfield; Custom Hand-Painted Shoes from Subnation and King of Sneakers; Gaming Equipment from HyperX and KontrolFreek; Opportunity to Participate in “Millionaire DJ Academy” Hosted by Grammy Award-Winning Producer DJ Babey Drew; and Free Esports Clinics from University of New Haven
Talent to Feature Lil Jon, Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, Waka Flocka Flame, SiLLY, SoaR Gaming, Jessie T. Usher, Donovan Carter, Slim Jxmmi, DJ Babey Drew, Harrison Bader, DJ Infamous, Lea Salonga, MonsterDFace, AussieAntics, Ghost Gaming, FaZeBloo, Stephanie Styles, FroZone, Kim Lee, Leah Culver, Brandi Cyrus, Corey “Mr. Hanky” Dennard, Kelly Olynyk, Kris Lofton and More
Event to be Hosted by Leading Gaming Personalities Joshua Gray, Michele Morrow, Rachel “Seltzer” Quirico, Sam Seum, Erin Simon and djWHEAT
ATLANTA – As part of the upcoming COV-AID™ event — a massive, multi-platform, one-day online charity event — DoorDash, the nation’s leading on-demand local logistics platform, will donate up to one million meals to those in need (one meal per viewer). The streaming event, scheduled for #GivingTuesday tomorrow, May 5, 2020, at 1pm EDT, will feature more than 10 hours of content showcasing popular gamers, athletes, artists and other personalities streamed across top social game-streaming platforms including Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter and Facebook. All proceeds will be donated to Americares and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BCGA) to help the fight against COVID-19, and to support front-line medical professionals, first responders, and families most directly affected by COVID-19 (Watch video HERE).
Throughout the event, COV-AID will have hourly giveaways for donors, which will include:
- One-of-a-kind signed items including:
- Signed gloves from MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz
- Signed gloves from World Champion Boxer Evander Holyfield
- and More!
- HyperX gaming equipment including keyboards, headsets and more
- Custom, hand-painted shoes from Subnation and King of Sneakers
- KontrolFreek equipment including performance thumbsticks, performance grips and gaming lights
- Free slots to The Millionaire DJ Academy hosted by Grammy-award winning producer, DJ Babey Drew
- Free spots at the University of New Haven’s Youth Summer Esports Clinic (a $500 value) where students will:
- Learn the business of esports and how their education can help advance them from esports business professor Jason Chung
- Learn how a collegiate esports team is run and benefit from in-game coaching by University of New Haven esports head coach Corey Parks (former professional CS:GO player)
- Plus, a new esports scholarship opportunity will be announced
“It’s so amazing to see artists from all sectors of the entertainment industry coming together for #GivingTuesday to help Americares and Boys and Girls Clubs of America,” said United in Gaming Co-Founder Andrew Smoltz. “I want to extend special thanks to our partners, brand sponsors, and in-kind donors for stepping in to support these efforts. This is such an extraordinary time for everyone all around the world, but we know gaming brings communities together — so that is what we’re doing on May 5.”
“DoorDash’s commitment to giving back to communities is a core belief of the company — that is even more true during the COVID-19 crisis,” said DoorDash Head of Consumer Marketing David Bornoff. “We’re excited to join COV-AID and donate one million meals to those in need through our partnership with Feeding America, especially during this time of incredible need.”
The COV-AID event will feature a mix of interactive, live-streamed competitions and performances, plus pre-recorded content from entertainers, athletes and other personalities.
Event Talent includes:
- Lil Jon: Grammy Award-winning artist
- Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski: Super Bowl champion
- Waka Flocka Flame: Rapper
- Jessie T. Usher: Actor
- SiLLY: Call of Duty champion
- SoaR Gaming: Esports organization
- Donovan Carter: Actor (HBO “Ballers”)
- Slim Jxmmi: Rapper
- DJ Babey Drew: Grammy Award-winning producer
- Harrison Bader: Former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder
- Hungrybox: Three-time, number one Super Smash Bros. player in the World
- DJ Infamous: Grammy Award-winning record producer
- Lea Salonga: Tony Award-winning actress and singer
- MonsterDFace & AussieAntics: Fortnite Commentators
- GhostSean: Professional Fortnite Player
- Kelly Olynyk: Professional NBA basketball player for the Miami Heat
- Garrett “FaZeBloo” Underhill: Call of Duty professional gamer
- DJ Whoo Kid: Hip Hop DJ
- Stephanie Styles: Actress, singer, and dancer
- Corey “Mr. Hanky” Dennard: Musician and Producer
- FroZone: Streamer and content creator
- Kim Lee, Leah Culver and Brandi Cyrus: DJs
Event Hosts:
- Michele Morrow: On-Camera host, Actor, Producer, Voice Over Artist and all-around gamer
- Joshua Gray: On-air host, as well as writer and producer for segments in the video game and digital entertainment industry
- Rachel “Seltzer” Quirico: Gaming and esports host
- Sam Seum: Streamer
- Erin Simon: Writer, producer, host and contributor for The Shadow League, and host of Cheddar Esports and Grass Routes Podcast
- djWheat: Popular commentator and streamer in StarCraft II community
“With everyone at home, we figured this was a great moment for digital-native talent to step up and take the lead in bringing people together, online,” said Skillshot CEO Todd Harris “The gaming challenges among our celebrity talent is going to be so much fun — if there was ever a time to check out what esports is all about, this is it … and it’s all for a good cause!”
Uspech Marketing Consultants Founder Jennifer Erdman added: “We’re especially thankful for our amazing talent, staff and partners — all of whom are all donating their time to participate in this event. No one involved in COV-AID is taking any fee or percentage, which allows us to ensure every penny raised goes directly to these two essential organizations at this critical time.”
“Americares is heartened to see such an outpouring of support to help health workers on the front lines of the pandemic,” said Americares President and CEO Christine Squires. “With support from COV-AID, we can provide even more masks, gloves, gowns and essential training to protect our health care heroes.”
“For 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs have navigated times of tragedy and crisis to provide safe places for kids and teens. Today, we are committed more than ever, to ensure Club staff, members, families and communities have the resources and support they need to navigate these uncertain times,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of America President and CEO Jim Clark. “Thank you to COV-AID and its partners for helping support our work during this critical time.”
For more information, or to make a donation, please visit cov-aid.org.
HOW TO WATCH
COV-AID will be live-streamed on May 5 at 1pm EDT on platforms including:
Twitch | YouTube | Mixer | Twitter | Facebook
ABOUT COV-AID
COV-AID is an egoless alliance of talent, distribution and nonprofit partners coming together to fight COVID-19. Event organizers and logistical partners will earn no revenue from COV-AID. All proceeds will support the event’s nonprofit beneficiaries and their work.
ABOUT AMERICARES
Americares is providing desperately-needed personal protective equipment (PPE), training and emotional support to ensure health workers on the front lines of the pandemic can continue their lifesaving and life-changing work.
ABOUT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA
Boys & Girls Clubs of America is committed to remaining open to support the children and families of front-line medical professionals and essential workers while also providing meals and virtual learning at thousands of Clubs around the country.
ABOUT DOORDASH
DoorDash is a technology company that connects customers with their favorite local and national businesses in more than 4,000 cities and all 50 states across the United States, Canada and Australia. Founded in 2013, DoorDash empowers merchants to grow their businesses by offering on-demand delivery, data-driven insights, and better in-store efficiency, providing delightful experiences from door to door. By building the last-mile delivery infrastructure for local cities, DoorDash is bringing communities closer, one doorstep at a time. Read more on the DoorDash blog or at www.doordash.com.
ABOUT HYPERX
HyperX is the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer, with the goal of providing gamers, PC builders, PC, console and mobile power users with high-performance components. For 16 years, the HyperX mission has been to develop gaming products for all types of gamers – high-speed memory, solid state drives, headsets, keyboards, mice, charging accessories for console players, USB flash drives, and mousepads – to the gaming community and beyond. The award-winning HyperX brand is known for consistently delivering products that deliver superior comfort, aesthetics, performance, and reliability. HyperX gear is the choice of celebrity ambassadors, pro gamers, tech enthusiasts, and over-clockers worldwide because it meets the most stringent product specifications and is built with best-in-class components. HyperX has shipped over 65 million memory modules, 10 million gaming headsets and one million keyboards worldwide.
ABOUT KONTROLFREEK
KontrolFreek® is the creator of Performance Gaming Gear™ and the leader of FreekNation, a global community of more than four million gamers. By combining the latest in ergonomics and advanced materials, the company’s lines of Performance Thumbsticks®, Performance Grips, Gaming Cables, and other high-quality products enhance the player experience by maximizing comfort and precision. KontrolFreek’s products for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC are available in more than 9,000 stores across 40 countries. KontrolFreek is headquartered in Atlanta.
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN
The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a global society by providing the highest quality education through experiential, collaborative, and discovery-based learning.
The University of New Haven is the first AACSB-accredited institution in the United States establishing academic degree programs in esports. This fall, students will join our BS in Management with concentration in Esports Administration or our BS in Esports and Gaming, a new interdisciplinary major maximizing the strengths of our programs in business, technology, criminal justice, health sciences, engineering and liberal arts. We are preparing our students to be the future leaders in this high-growth field.
COV-AID was created, and is being produced by, a consortium of media and technology firms with close ties to the gaming and esports community, including:
United in Gaming, Skillshot Media, Uspech Marketing, Film Quality Services, Subnation, Visual Weaponry, Softgiving, KontrolFreek, Mojichat, Lunchbox.gg, and Enthusiast Gaming
Media Contacts
COV-AID media contact:
Melissa Sanders, Tadpole Communications
404-909-6726
melissa@tadpolecomm.net
Americares media contact:
Donna Porstner
516-607-1180
DPorstner@americares.org
Boys & Girls Clubs of America contact:
Ashley Keyes
404-285-2326
akeyes@BGCA.org
DoorDash media contact:
Liz King
liz.king@doordash.com
HyperX media contact:
Mark Tekunoff, HyperX Corporate PR Manager
714-438-2791
mark_tekunoff@hyperxgaming.com
