Los Angeles (March 16, 2020) – FaZe Clan, the world’s most popular esports and gaming entertainment collective, is bringing the global streaming community together for positive action during the current pandemic. Through a new initiative they’ve created called #FIGHT2FUND, FaZe Clan will lead the gaming and entertainment communities in a collective effort to raise funds for those affected by COVID-19 and contribute to preventing the spread of the Coronavirus.
The first #FIGHT2FUND will be a Call of Duty: Warzone pro-am tournament taking place this Monday, March 16th at 12pm PT/3pm ET/7pm GMT. Sixteen teams of three will comprise the tournament bracket and will feature a combination of gamers, streamers, athletes, music artists and celebrities, including Ben Simmons, Juju Smith-Schuster, Illenium, NickEh30, Vikkstar123, FaZe Apex, and FaZe Temperrr, among others (for a full list, please see end of press release). The winning team will choose a local charity or organization impacted by coronavirus to receive the prize, which will include 100% of sponsored and stream-donated proceeds, plus initial donations made by FaZe Clan, Softgiving and Call of Duty. FaZe Clan will produce and host a main channel overview of the tournament at www.fight2fund.org and twitch.tv/faze, while participants will also stream via their own channels.
FaZe Clan has created the #FIGHT2FUND initiative as a format to extend beyond the first tournament and continue empowering the use of gaming entertainment to bridge communities together and raise funds for the global good.
“More than ever, gaming will be a driving force of entertainment in light of the many industry shutdowns,” says Lee Trink, CEO, FaZe Clan. “We can create a large amount of collective good and raise funds to support local strained organizations and charities impacted by coronavirus.”
The anchor charity partners for the first #FIGHT2FUND will be CARE, the leading humanitarian and development organization that works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice, along with Feeding America and Best Friends Animal Society.
“Right now CARE is scaling up hygiene efforts in crisis zones across the world to prevent the unthinkable – the spread of coronavirus in communities already ravaged by conflict and poverty,” said Michelle Nunn, president and CEO, CARE. “The numbers are staggering and too many lives are at stake. In times like these, we need to come together in solidarity with one another. Thank you FaZe Clan for support in helping to prevent the spread of coronavirus for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
FaZe Clan is also proud to be teaming up with Softgiving, which is not only donating a minimum of $50,000 to the cause, but also providing the fundraising platform for #FIGHT2FUND.
“During these uncertain times, we’re honored to make our fundraising platform available to FaZe Clan and the #Fight2Fund campaign to generate much-needed dollars to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” said Matt Pfaltzgraf, CEO, Softgiving. “We’re equally honored to support the critical relief services of our partners at CARE and other charities, who are providing lifesaving aid to international communities vulnerable to the coronavirus.”
In addition to the generous talent who have come to the table to participate in #FIGHT2FUND, FaZe Clan is thrilled to have the support of UMG Gaming, the premier esports company providing all logistics for the tournament and broadcasting, including casters from their Las Vegas studios. Both Call of Duty and Cut + Sew have also come on board as key partners for #FIGHT2FUND, with Cut + Sew helping secure talent and Call of Duty donating funds.
The full list of talent participating in the first #FIGH2FUND includes:
● AFK
● Andre Drummond
● Anthony Alfredo
● Austin Dillon
● Beam
● Ben Simmons
● Borgore
● Chad Ochocinco
● Cray
● DDG
● De’Aaron Fox
● DJ Scheme
● Donovan Carter
● Dougisraw
● Evan Engram
● FaZe Apex
● FaZe Bloo
● FaZe Dirty
● FaZe Nate Hill
● FaZe Nikan
● FaZe Pamaj
● FaZe Rug
● FaZe Sway
● FaZe Temperrr
● Fed
● Ian Thomas
● Illenium
● Itz_WarsZ
● John Ross
● Jordan Jenkins
● Josh Hart
● JuJu Smith-Schuster ● K?D
● Kayzo● Larry Nance Jr.
● Mendo
● Meyers Leonard
● Nick Eh 30
● Noisy Butters
● Royal
● Swagg
● Trevor Martin ● Tyla Yaweh
● Vapulear
● Vikkstar123
ABOUT FAZE CLAN
FaZe Clan, the unmatched leader in competitive esports and pop-gaming entertainment, is known for its roster of 85 influential gaming personalities active across digital content and streaming platforms, including YouTube, Mixer, Twitch, Instagram and Twitter. Along with multi-award-winning pro-players and popular content creators, FaZe Clan’s roster includes pro-athletes such as NBA star Ben Simmons, NFL star Juju Smith-Schuster, musicians Offset and Lil’ Yachty. Also, FaZeClan fields seven competitive esports teams in Fortnite, FIFA, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six, Call of Duty League (Atlanta FaZe) and CS:GO with dozens of world championship trophies among them. Since its inception in 2010, FaZe Clan has established itself as the most followed and powerful gaming organization in history with over 215 million fans internationally across all social platforms. FaZe Clan holds an unrivaled position at the epicenter of esports and lifestyle revolution driving how the next generation consumes content, plays, and shops. FaZe Clan brings inspired brand collaborations through partnerships with Manchester City FC, Puma, Kappa, CLOT, and Champion to its fans, while simultaneously creating unique content with organizations, including G-Fuel, Nissan and Wix. Follow us @FaZeClan and @FaZeApparel.
ABOUT UMG
UMG Media Ltd. (“UMG”) is a premier esports company in North America, offering live gaming entertainment events and online play. UMG provides online and live tournaments as well as the creation and distribution of original esports content. For more information about UMG visit www.umggaming.com.
ABOUT SOFTGIVING
Softgiving makes it easy for influencers to fundraise for their favorite causes in a fast, convenient, lifestyle-based way. As the first charity streaming platform with a 0% Platform Fee, Softgiving is committed to raising more money for more nonprofits in order to make an even greater global impact. For more information, visit Softgiving.com and follow the company on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
ABOUT CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. That’s why women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to confront hunger, ensure nutrition and food security for all, improve education and health, create economic opportunity and respond to emergencies. In 2019, CARE worked in 100 countries and reached more than 68 million people around the world. Learn more at www.care.org.
ABOUT CUT + SEW
Cut + Sew is a boutique agency of multihyphenates operating at the intersection of sports, gaming, technology, and new media. Cut + Sew has helped companies like Venmo, Ford, Red Bull, and Turtle Beach seek innovation through content, influencers, events, and partnerships. For more information on Cut + Sew, please see a recent article published in Forbes.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Kalei Talwar kalei.talwar@care.org | skype: kalei.talwar | +1 808-381-6901