N.S. man with 68,000 YouTube followers goes virtual with COVID-19 fundraising

A Nova Scotia man who makes YouTube videos about a popular Nintendo video game series is using his platform to tackle food insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keegan Meyer — or Faerghast to his 68,000 subscribers — is hosting a special charity stream on his YouTube channel today to raise money for Feed Nova Scotia.

Meyer and several of his fellow streamers, each with large followings of their own, will spend the day playing video games and streaming the experience online, giving viewers an option to donate.

"This felt like an opportunity for me to kind of help do my part," Meyer said.

For some gamers, streaming can be a full-time job that pays the bills. For Meyer, creating YouTube content based on the video game series Fire Emblem, which dates back to 1990, is one of two virtual ventures — he's also an online personal trainer.

Being from a small town like Antigonish, N.S., Meyer said he sees firsthand how much of a "hardcore" impact the pandemic is having on small businesses and food-insecure people.

"I'm not in dire straits, but I know many people who are," he said.

Meyer brought the idea of what he calls the Emblem Food Drive to some of his fellow content creators and streamers.

Magnus Hestveen, known to his subscribers as Mangs, is one of the streamers taking part in Meyer's charity event. Hestveen said he's happy to support from the sidelines, having hosted his own fundraising stream for an animal rights charity last year.

"All we're doing, me and Faerghast, we're playing video games online. The fact that we can actually use that to help people out is really heartwarming and humbling," Hestveen said.

Money to Feed Nova Scotia

There's an entire day of mostly Fire Emblem live-streamed events planned, starting at 12 p.m. ET., with the final event — Super Smash Bros Ultimate — kicking off at 9:45 p.m.

Hestveen said he'll be participating for some of the midday events, but given the time difference between Nova Scotia and his home country of Norway, he'll have to "bow out" early.

Meyer's charity stream will have a dedicated PayPal account, with 100 per cent of the donations made throughout the day going to Feed Nova Scotia.

"He chose a local charity, which I think also really shows that he has a lot of love for the place that he lives," Hestveen said.

The charity event will also have a few interactive components, Meyer said, to give people a chance to be a part of the action instead of just watching it.

People can bid against each other for certain outcomes in some events, and Meyer will be hosting a Q&A with voice actors from some of the recent Fire Emblem titles.

"The fact that there's opportunities to spread positivity and bring to light an issue that people may not think about," Meyer said. "It's nice to be able to take what you have, and do a good thing about it."