Gamers from a town completed a 24-hour non-stop ‘gameathon’ to raise money for a Norfolk charity.
No sleep and only allowed short breaks for eating and trips to the loo, Joe Cunnell and Tom Scott, venues and events coordinators at The Carnegie, part of Thetford Town Council, decided to use their talents to raise money for Age UK Norfolk.
As avid gamers, the pair decided they would stay awake and play video games on their PCs, at their homes, for 24 hours straight, which started from 3pm July 1 and finished at 3pm July 2.
And they raised just over £1,000 for the charity, beating their £500 target.
Mr Scott said: “We broadcasted the whole thing on Twitch and Facebook so people could watch us or tune it to see how we were doing.
“But the most difficult part wasn’t even the staying awake we had a few technical difficulties to start off with that I had to try to fix.
“Also starring a screen for that long meant my eyes were hurting so much, towards the end I was having to go and put eye drops in because it was killing me.
“But I am glad we did it, and we smashed our target.”
Mr Scott said gaming is one of the ways he has tried to engage with the younger generations in the town.
“The long-term goal is to make this venue succeed and it is good to be able to find other ways to engage with a younger audience,” he said.
“We were meant to have a gaming convention and a music festival in The Carnegie this year, but the pandemic meant it couldn’t happen.”
The 26-year-old had also planned Thetford’s first indoor music festival, Breckfest, to rebuild the town’s live music scene before it was cancelled amid the pandemic.
Mr Scott added: “Aiming for those younger audiences and trying to engage them is really important.
“A lot of what is established in Thetford is much suited to older generations but if we can help bridge that gap, we can give them a better opportunity to find their local community.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here