PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Northern Maine Community College’s Falcon esports team will host a 24-hour live video gaming event, starting on Saturday, Dec. 5, that will raise funds for three area organizations.
Beginning at noon on Dec. 5, Falcons team members will broadcast their video gaming live from the NMCC gymnasium on Facebook, YouTube and Twitch, an app specially designed for video game live streams. Community members will be welcome to join in the gaming or watch at the time of their choosing until noon Dec. 6. People can donate at any time during or before the broadcast.
All funds raised during the event — Gaming for a Cause — will go toward Wintergreen Arts Center, the Anah Shriners and St. Apollonia Dental Clinic.
Aidan Johnson, an NMCC student and Falcons esports member, said he has taken part in a similar event called Extra Life, a video gaming fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network, for the past three years. As a former Wintergreen student, he wanted to give back to that organization as well as others who have faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on a local level.
“We thought it would be cool to do an event like Extra Life but for people closer to home,” Johnson said.
In the coming weeks, NMCC esports coordinator Chris Perry and Falcons team members will sign up local business sponsors. Throughout the broadcast, NMCC will premiere interviews with and commercials for those sponsors and hold giveaways for technology and video gaming-related products.
Thus far the Falcons have raised $1,300 in sponsors and donations and hope to raise at least $10,000 by the time the live broadcast ends.
“[As a team] we’re part of this community and so we want to help take care of people in our community,” Perry said, on the motivation behind Gaming for a Cause.
NMCC became the first college north of Bangor to launch an esports team earlier this year and has since participated in college video gaming tournaments. Team member Gavin Cote hopes that Gaming for a Cause will help the Falcons better connect with the community through their love of gaming.
“This community has put a lot of trust in us starting the esports programs, so we want to show that we’re about more than just playing video games. We really want to give back to the community,” Cote said.
Those who wish to donate to Gaming for a Cause or receive information about joining the live event can contact NMCC at 207-768-2810 or go to esports.nmcc.edu.
