Our fundraising season rolls over on July 1, so this is the last newsletter of Season 6… where does the time go?!
Read on for the scoop on our last event of the season, our upcoming awards ceremony, and a change to our usual summer schedule. Plus, a spotlight on a British Ready Type 1 Ambassador who puts a truly unique spin on the whole “eating bugs for charity” thing.
Happening Now: UK Diabetes Week
In the US, we celebrate Diabetes Awareness Month in November, but did you know the UK has their own diabetes-themed week? Well, they do—and we’re in the middle of it right now.
Through June 15, several of our UK-based creators are holding charity streams to support Breakthrough T1D UK and the 400,000 people who live with T1D in the United Kingdom. Please tune in to cheer them on!
Want to do your own charity stream for UK Diabetes Week? Set up a campaign on Tiltify. And for our Australian creators, we’ll be holding a similar event for you July 13–20.
Happening June 26: The 3rd Annual Blue Heart Awards
Movies have the Oscars and TV has the Emmys, but Breakthrough T1D Play has the best awards of all… the Blue Hearts! On June 26 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET / 9pm BST, join us live on Twitch as we celebrate our top fundraisers, community MVPs, and other special people who made a big impact this season. Plus, we’ll unveil our brand new set of Season 7 fundraising prizes during the ceremony.
Once again, Ready Type 1 Ambassador Toonafeesh is creating the Blue Heart trophies with his trusty 3D printer. Check out the video below for a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how they’re made.
NOT Happening in August: Game Over, T1D!
With Season 7 starting on July 1, now is typically when we’d start talking up Game Over, T1D!, colloquially known as “the August event.” We first held this fundraiser in August 2020, at the height of pandemic lockdowns, which worked out great since everyone at home with nothing to do but play video games.
In the years since, this timing has become challenging for people with conflicting vacation plans. And with Creators for Cures in May and Diabetes Awareness Month in November, doing a big event in August started to feel like overkill.
That’s why we’re moving Game Over, T1D! to November, where it will be part of our Diabetes Awareness Month activities. We’ll have more to say in the fall, just didn’t want to leave you hanging.
Still want to stream for Breakthrough T1D this summer? Please do! Set up a Tiltify campaign whenever you’re in the mood and you can get a head start on earning the new Season 7 incentives.
Streamer Spotlight: GhostlyTuna
Hailing from the UK and sporting a world-famous beard, GhostlyTuna is one of our O.G. fundraisers, having been part of the Breakthrough T1D Play community since our first event in November 2019.
He’s also an O.G. T1D, diagnosed at age four: “I got involved with Breakthrough T1D as type 1 diabetes is a cause quite close to my pancreas. I’ve been a diabetic for over thirty years and I’ve seen the progress that research has enabled and wanted to be part of that to make a bright future for all diabetics.”
Tuna (aka Scott) is a programmer by day who streams a lot of roguelites/roguelikes and indie games. He also makes easy-to-use apps and tools for streamers, like the subathon tracker Stream Timer, which can be integrated with Twitch, StreamLabs, and the Elgato Stream Deck.
Tuna’s charity streams have raised $6,500 for Breakthrough T1D, often with clever donation incentives related to the gameplay of whatever he’s streaming. He also involves his pet hedgehogs in the fun, giving donors a chance to activate the hedgehog cam or feed them a mealworm or live cricket.
GhostlyTuna is one of the community members fundraising this week for Breakthrough T1D UK. “It’s a great feeling to help contribute to helping diabetics across the world,” he says of joining in our first-ever UK Diabetes Week fundraiser. “Even better when it’s for a home turf cause!”
Keep In Touch
We’re taking the summer off from sending newsletters, but we’ll still be around. If you need us (or just miss us), reach out on Discord, Twitter/X, Instagram, and Bluesky, or by email at play@breakthrought1d.org. See you in September!
