Popular streamer and regular fundraiser Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker's community as of February 9 2023 has successfully raised $1,000,000 USD in three days to aid the relief efforts and rescue operations in Turkey and Syria after a disastrous earthquake hit the two countries. HasanAbi, at the time of writing this update, has raised $1,060,122 USD via his fundraiser. Notably, he noticed that the fundraiser was $20,000 USD short of hitting the million-dollar mark and as a result, he donated the $20,000 USD. In total, he has contributed $45,000 USD.
Earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale killed thousands of people in south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria. The disaster caused widespread destruction and injured thousands. Rescue teams are searching through the rubble and countries are rushing aid to earthquake-hit Turkey and Syria. Twitch streamer Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker started a fundraiser to raise money for those affected by the earthquakes and the aftershocks. HasanAbi, at the time of writing this article, has already raised $635,486 USD via his fundraiser.
HasanAbi’s fundraiser can be accessed via this link: https://t.co/lVy4dLzqxe
HasanAbi’s fundraiser & the benefiting charities
HasanAbi made it clear that he was looking for organizations that are not tied to the Turkish government so that the funds go directly to the people in dire need. The charities benefiting from HasanAbi’s fundraiser are Ahbap, CARE Turkey, CARE Syria, and AKUT Association.
HasanAbi announced that he and his viewers managed to reach $150,000 USD in 15 minutes and this figure stands at over $600,000 USD currently. Addressing the earthquake, HasanAbi tweeted, “Absolutely devastating. I was in Istanbul in 1999 which [the earthquake’s magnitude] was a 7.6, this was a 7.8. I will do everything I can to help.”
He also stated that he was actively working to create a streamlined process so that foreign donors can easily fund NGOs including Ahbap for fast relief. With people rapidly donating to HasanAbi’s fundraiser, the site temporarily crashed
HasanAbi calls out haters
Many people on Twitch were trying their hardest to convince those wanting to contribute to HasanAbi’s fundraiser by calling it a “scam.” One of the biggest streamers who was targeted was YouTuber and content creator Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkin. When IShowSpeed wanted to donate $50,000 USD to HasanAbi’s fundraiser, viewers told him that it was a scam.
HasanAbi stated that people were desperately trying to vilify him and explained how serious the situation in Turkey and Syria is. He pointed out that there are people stuck under the rubble who might not make it out over the next 24 hours. He was seemingly disappointed with people stopping IShowSpeed from donating and stated that the thousands of viewers watching him could potentially think the fundraiser is a scam.
Charles Christopher White Jr. aka MoistCr1TiKaL also released a video explaining how weird it is that people are undermining the efforts of Hasan just because they personally dislike the streamer. He said, “You don’t have to like the person who does a good deed, but you can appreciate the good deed that was done.”
Some of the top donors to HasanAbi’s charity include Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, Ludwig “ludwig” Ahgren, Tarık “tarik” Çelik, and Seán “Jacksepticeye” William McLoughlin.
