Popular Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is doing his part to help with COVID-19 relief. Ninja announced that he and his wife, Jessica Blevins, will donate $150,000 to Feeding America, following the lead of celebrities like Ryan Reynolds and Jimmy Fallon.
We have been inspired by @vancityreynolds and @jimmyfallon who both made donations to @feedingAmerica We have donated 150,000 dollars, and encourage others to try and stay positive and practice social distancing. pic.twitter.com/FNFsNlMBON
— Ninja (@Ninja) March 20, 2020
“I’ve been fortunate enough, specifically from me streaming and [getting support from fans], to be in the financial situation that my wife and I are in right now,” Ninja said in a video posted to Twitter. “It’s incredible, so we wanted to give back as much as we can to families that are being affected.”
Blevins also encouraged anyone that can afford to give to donate the group of their choice to help support COVID-19 relief as the world waits for a vaccine. Feeding America, the charity Ninja, Reynolds, and Fallon donated to, is a hunger relief organization that operates more than 200 food banks. Since many schools that offer free or reduced-price meals are closed and parents are unable to work, Feeding America is distributing meals to children in need. Beyond its food banks, the organization’s support comes through a variety of methods including operating drive-throughs at closed schools, giving cold to-go meals to children, and opening up summer meal sites early due to the pandemic.
“This is not just our money — this is on behalf of Team Ninja being able to donate $150,000 to Feeding America,” Jessica Blevins, who also serves as her husband’s manager, added.
Ninja also stressed that his young audience should take the situation seriously and that social distancing is key to flattening the curve, a strategy many officials promote to best fight the pandemic.
“We see a lot of young people who are not practicing social distancing, which is something we should all be practicing, as it will help us not spread the virus to more people. We have to do everything in our power to lower the curve. I feel like it’s every single influencer’s job to make sure that we’re telling our audience how important this is,” Ninja said.
While best known for his Fortnite streams, Ninja was a professional Halo gamer, so his reach expands beyond the younger Fortnite demographic.
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