You might have seen me talking of The Jingle Jam before, usually on the November and December monthly updates. Or when I talked about how the Yogscast were the driving force behind me being so invested in the Farming Simulator series. But what exactly is The Jingle Jam, and why is it such a special event?
Back in 2011 the Yogscast were going strong on YouTube. The YoGPoD had been entertaining listeners for two years, the Minecraft Survival series Shadow of Israphel had attracted plenty of viewers to the channel, and they were on the rise to reach a million subscribers (which they did in October of that year).
Christmas was coming again, but this year held something special. Lewis and Simon were always adamant that fans should give to charity rather than get them gifts for Christmas, so they went ahead and set up a month of livestreams in aid of Oxfam’s ‘Give a Goat’ programme – which would give goats to families and villages of third world nations of Africa to help support them.
This would be the first time the duo and their friends from Ye Olde Goon Squade guild of World of Warcraft would be livestreaming content, and so quality wasn’t exactly the best. The entire month of streams would be aired out of the basement of the house they were living in. Such issues didn’t stop fans from giving generously to the cause, however.
That first event raised over £60,000, which was the goal the Yogscast had set. Such a goal hadn’t expected to be met, which brought Oxfam more money than was needed for the ‘Give a Goat’ programme. To ensure such things didn’t happen during future events, next year brought some changes.
The new office had a dedicated streaming room, two programmes of Oxfam were chosen to be supported through the charity drive of 2012, and more creators were brought on board to bring further variety to the month of content. The effect of such changes meant over triple the funds had been raised from the previous year.
With subsequent Christmas Livestream events – which started going by the name of The Jingle Jam from 2014 – seeing further charities being supported, a games bundle given to those who helped support the charities, and the continued growth of the Yogscast in general, the amount raised each year rose to over $1 million per year until it reached the astonishing heights of 2017’s $5.2 million.
Future Jingle Jam events still saw roughly $3 million raised per year, with last year’s event hitting $4.4 million. The charities have been announced for this year’s event, meaning it’s time to start looking forward to what content is offered up this year, coming together as a community, and enjoying the festivities across the month of December.
Whether that be jumping on Farming Simulator to Feed a Cow For Christmas, game tournaments, making music and art, or perhaps taking a visit to the Christmas Markets of Bristol. Or the event that opens the Jingle Jam – watching community made cat videos that relate to Christmas. Or Jingle Cats. The absolute hilarity of the first day is always fun to watch, even if you never check out another day.
For this year, there are twelve charities that the Jingle Jam are supporting via Tiltify. Nearly all of them are charities not before featured as part of the event, but the mainstays are still here. Special Effect – that has been part of the Jingle Jam since 2013, Whale and Dolphin Conservation – that has been part of the Jingle Jam since 2016, and The Grand Appeal – that has been part of the Jingle Jam since 2017.
Special Effect has formed a close relationship with the Yogscast over the years thanks to The Jingle Jam, with one of their ambassadors – Becky Tyler, a longtime fan of the Yogscast – having appeared on streams over the last few years to help promote what Special Effect have done for her.
Helping people with physical life challenges enjoy the medium of video games through creative adaptive technology, Special Effect have created the means to play games using nothing but a person’s eyes. It is through this technology that Becky has been able to enjoy the delights of creation in Minecraft.
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation works to stop the captivity of whales and dolphins within theme parks and aquariums that are not deemed as natural living spaces for such creatures. However, they recognise that some whales and dolphins are unable to be returned to the wild, so are creating more natural living spaces for them where they can be properly cared for.
While also working to create and promote safer bulk fishing methods, abolishing the practice of whaling, and creating safer seas for creatures to live, the funds raised from the Jingle Jam across the years has been helping to fund those goals.
The Grand Appeal is the official Bristol Children’s Hospital charity, who are committed to supporting the patients and their families who attend the hospital. Wanting to ensure the very best care for children and babies who attend the hospital from across the South West and beyond, they are helping to invest in medical research programmes and equipment needed to save lives, as well as improving the wellbeing support patients and their families receive.
This year, plans will be unveiled for The Jingle Jam building as work goes ahead to bring the fourth family accommodation house to the hospital’s grounds.
The Grand Appeal are always happy with the generosity of the Yogscast community, as is every charity that The Jingle Jam have helped raise funds and awareness for. The batch of new charities that The Jingle Jam will be helping this year are sure to feel such generosity once the jamming stops for another year. As always, the Yogscast have chosen charities that help all sorts of people.
One cause that the Yogscast are always helping awareness of is that of the LGBTQ+ community. Past Jingle Jams have seen the Yogscast community be generous to both the International LGBTI Association and ILGA World. This year, it’s Mermaid’s turn.
Having been helping transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children, young people, and their families since 1995, Mermaids has grown to be one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ charities. Helping to support young people up to the age of 20 with resources and safe spaces to connect with others, they also aim to inform wider society on gender identity to help the world be more inclusive for everyone no matter what they identify as.
Other causes The Jingle Jam have supported in the past include help for mental health, life-threatening diseases, and promoting safety for all. RESET Mental Health raise awareness of the discrimination the black community face when accessing mental health services, helping those who have faced such discrimination with their own mental health.
With the RESET of their name being an acronym for Realise Every Situation Encourages Transformation, their goal of wanting to help people feel better in themselves is at the fore of their messaging. Built by those of the black community for those of the black community, they aim to ensure that no-one goes without the support they need.
Campaign Against Living Miserably are a charity to help those with suicidal thoughts, promoting that talking helps you avoid the point of no return. It gives those needing it a space to talk about problems that they feel they can’t talk about with anyone else, while utilising their campaigns to challenge the reasons preventing people from talking of their problems.
Huntington’s Disease Association works to improve care and support services for those with Huntington’s disease. Through their advisory service and healthcare professionals training, they help provide for those who need the support no matter what stage of the journey in dealing with it they are.
The Yogscast have done a few sporting events in their time, and for a number of years they’ve been supporting charities that provide access to sport through the Jingle Jam. For the last three years, it’s been Access Sport. This year, it’s Special Olympics GB. An organisation with a focus on providing sports training and athletic competitions for those with learning disabilities.
The other charities that are part of The Jingle Jam this year are the British Red Cross – who help people in times of crisis, Dogs For Autism – who aim to train dogs that can help those with autism, Kidscape – who aim to keep children safe from bullying and harm, and Movember – who target the three biggest health issues facing men.
This year is sure to be another big event. Whether it remains as a 14-day event like it has these last two years, or extends to be three weeks, there’s plenty of streams to be enjoying aiding in the raising money and awareness of these charities. And if, like last year, it gets opened to allow others access to be a part of The Jingle Jam, everyone can help spread awareness of the charity drive to make this another successful year.
For me, I’ll be doing my part in raising awareness for these charities and the Jingle Jam, even if it doesn’t get opened to other creators like last year. It’s always a fun time, as I found from my first Jingle Jam back in 2018. It’s a special event full of positivity and giving to others, and it perfectly represents what Christmas is meant to be. I’ll be there 1/December for another delightful Jingle Jam, and I hope you readers will be enjoying it, too.
Images Taken From:
Yogscast Christmas Livestream 2013 but only the funny bits | xenophyte YouTube
Pokémon! JINGLE JAM 2021 – DAY 2 | Yogscast Live YouTube
I LOVE EGG! JINGLE JAM – DAY 11 | Yogscast Live YouTube
JINGLE JAM 2019 DAY 1 – JINGLE JAM HYPE STREAM | Yogscast Live YouTube
BRISTOL CHRISTMAS MARKET! – YOGSCAST JINGLE JAM! – 3rd December 2018 | Yogscast Live YouTube
