With pet adoptions skyrocketing, a video game streamer aims to help Sacramento SPCA

The Sacramento SPCA has a lot of programs to keep moving, even in the time of COVID-19. It’s not just animal care and adoptions — they also provide behavior training, education camps for kids, and of course a spaying and neutering program, among others.

This past year of pandemic has meant a significant uptick in adoptions as well. When the need for funds and the amount of work to be done are high, it’s a huge relief to the organization if a third party comes along to hold a fundraiser. That’s where Emma Skies, local Twitch video game streamer, comes in. Skies is holding her fourth annual Twitch charity livestream for the Sacramento SPCA on April 17 from noon until midnight.

Twitch is a live-streaming service people use to watch all kinds of content, but it’s tailored to watch video gamers like Skies ply their Minecraft. Gamers often use Twitch to raise money for their favorite charities by staying on a livestream and playing much longer than usual, often up to 24 hours, and asking their viewers for donations. The platform lends itself well to these kinds of streams, as you can set different sounds and visuals for when a donation is made.

For her first fundraiser in 2018, Skies set a goal of $500 for the Sacramento SPCA. She raised $1,000. In 2019, she thought she knew what to expect so her goal was $1,000. She raised $3,000. In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, she set an ambitious goal of $5,000. Skies raised $12,000 in 12 hours. This year’s goal is $10,000.

The SPCA is not a random choice as beneficiary for Skies. It’s where she connected with her pug/chihuahua mix, Milly in 2017.

“I’ve always been really grateful for everything they do,” Skies said. “Milly is one of the best things that has happened to me.”

When Skies met Milly, she was a very scared little dog, who had likely been in an abusive situation before coming to the shelter. It didn’t take too long for Milly to warm up to Skies and they’ve been together since.

What started out as a hopeful project for Skies has grown over the years, along with the donations. Last year she had donations from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

“Last year, Emma blew it out of the water,” SPCA spokeswoman Sarah Varanini said, “and those were people we would never reach on our own. All because she loves her dog.”

Last year, Skies also created some video content about the Sacramento SPCA to play for her viewers during her breaks, which gave people a chance to see where their money was going and who it was serving.

This year, viewers can expect more videos of the SPCA and giveaways, including a gaming chair from Tabu Ohana. Skies will play single player narrative games, multiplayer games with guests, Minecraft and a finale of horror games. The annual event has quickly become one of Skies’ favorite days of livestreaming every year. In previous years, she has set the donation alert to play a very loud sound for her when she’s playing the horror games, giving herself an extra reason to be startled. In the past, she has also included eating jelly beans from BeanBoozled every time she hit a certain amount in donations.

Skies’ usual streams on Twitch are around three hours, but this event stretches her to four times that duration. She also usually has around 30 viewers at a time, but that number usually spikes up during the SPCA livestream. It’s a big undertaking that she thinks is worth it, but she admits that after it, “I will sleep for days!”

The Sacramento SPCA is hoping this event will be successful as well, as it had to change fundraising in the past year by either making events virtual or canceling them altogether.

“Most of our fundraisers are based on getting people together,” Varanini said.

Having Skies’ virtual, third-party fundraiser allows the SPCA to spend more time making other community connections and increases its impact.

“If we don’t raise the money, we can’t provide for the community. There is always more that needs to be done,” Varanini said.

For example, the SPCA provides for 60 to 70 cats to be spayed or neutered every Sunday, with 5-10 additional surgeries every weekday to keep the feral cat population down. Varanini said the shelter spends $35 a day sheltering and feeding an animal. It costs $250 to pay for spaying or neutering. The shelter spends $5 to $10 to microchip animals. And $500 can provide life-saving care for an animal in severe medical distress.

If you want to help

If you are interested in hosting a fundraiser for the Sacramento SPCA, you can visit its website at sspca.org/events to learn about opportunities. Emma Skies’ livestream event will be on her Twitch channel at twitch.tv/emmaskies on April 17 from noon to midnight. Skies uses a third-party donation service to send funds directly to the SSPCA, so those giving can be assured she does not handle their money personally.

This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 9:56 AM.