Fortnite streamer DrLupo raised $1.3 million for St. Jude's Children's Hospital in 2018

News
By published

DrLupo finished the year with a 24-hour Fortnite livestream that pulled in $611,000 in donations.

Benjamin Lupo, better known to the gaming world as DrLupo, raised more than $611,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital during a 24-hour Fortnite stream, bringing his total fundraising effort for 2018 to $1.3 million. 

"DrLupo, his fan base and the entire gaming community have truly embraced the St. Jude mission in a huge way," said Richard Shadyac Jr, President and CEO of American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, the organization founded in 1957 to raise funds and awareness for the hospital.   

"To raise $1 million for the kids of St. Jude in just one year is an incredible milestone and makes him a leader among his gaming peers. By helping pioneer this innovative way of fundraising, he and his community are leading the charge for the future of fundraising by helping St. Jude continue to fight childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases." 

December's big bundle comes on top of $659,000 raised by DrLupo during the week-long GuardianCon event that took place in July 2018, and more than $140,000 more raised through the Build Against Cancer t-shirt campaign. It's an undeniably impressive amount of money, yet it also represents only a tiny slice of the hospital's roughly $1 billion annual operational costs. The majority of its funding comes from individual donations, and the hospital does not bill for its services. 

More Fortnite

What's new with the latest Fortnite season
The best Fortnite creative codes
The optimal Fortnite settings
Our favorite Fortnite skins
The best Fortnite toys

"One of the best parts of being a streamer is seeing communities of people form, and working with those communities to help benefit others and leave a legacy of positivity," Lupo said. "Having the opportunity to engage the gaming community in the mission of St. Jude has been life changing, and I'm so grateful to continue to be a part of this legacy to show the good that gaming will do to change people's lives."

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.