Zeldathon

Zeldathon is a biannual video game charity marathon, broadcast live on Twitch. Traditionally, every major video game in The Legend of Zelda series is completed back-to-back throughout the event, over the course of several days. Viewers are encouraged to donate directly to a selected charity in order to reach various goals and motivate the attendees to perform various challenges, such as playing the game upside down, or dressing up as a recurring video game character.[1][2]

Zeldathon
GenreVideo game charity marathons
FrequencyBiannual
Location(s)United States
InauguratedDecember 27, 2009 (2009-12-27)
FounderMatthew "MC" Moffit
Most recentDecember 27, 2019 - January 3, 2020
Next eventTBD
Participants100+
Organized byKinstone, LLC
Websitezeldathon.net

As of 2020, more than 100 people from across the world have participated in the event, with the most recent instances featuring over 70 attendees each. Over the course of 25 marathons, the team has raised more than $2.6 million for various charitable causes.[3]

At the conclusion of the 22nd marathon, a documentary on the event's history, Money Making Game, was announced with a projected release of December 2019 to celebrate Zeldathon's 10th anniversary.[4] The documentary was premiered at the 25th marathon, Zeldathon Forces.

Founding

Zeldathon was first organized in late 2009 between Matthew “MC” Moffit and Zak Ondish, having taken inspiration from other charity gaming marathons such as TheSpeedGamers.

Following the first marathon, motivation was low to continue to create another event. However, another attendee of the initial event wanted to do a second as a high school senior project. Moffit agreed to help, and they planned and executed a second summer event. Following this, the marathon continued to return twice annually, in the summer and winter, with occasional mini-marathons being held as needed.[3]

Honors

In September 2016, the Zeldathon Team was awarded the "Help Award" by Help Hope Live, for excellence in fund-raising following their fifteenth marathon, Zeldathon Hope. The award was given as a direct result of their effort in raising more than $250,000 for Help Hope Live in the 150-hour event.[5]

List of marathons

There have been 25 mainline marathons to date, with the next event planned for 2020.[6]

# Title Start Date End Date Charity Total Raised Duration Notes
1Zeldathon for Charity December 27, 2009 December 30, 2009 Child's Play$30172 Hours
2Zeldathon for the American Cancer Society June 19, 2010 June 22, 2010 American Cancer Society$3,32272 Hoursa.k.a. Zeldathon ACS
3Zeldathon for the American Diabetes Association December 27, 2010 January 1, 2011 American Diabetes Association$4,001120 Hoursa.k.a. Zeldathon ADA
4Zeldathon Quest June 22, 2011 June 24, 2011 RJ's College Fund$2,67248 HoursMini-Marathon[7]
5Zeldathon for the American Red Cross July 19, 2011 July 23, 2011 American Red Cross$13,28096 Hoursa.k.a. Zeldathon ARC
6Zeldathon Child's Play December 29, 2011 January 5, 2012 Child's Play$15,473170 Hours[8][9]
7Ultimate Zeldathon July 7, 2012 July 12, 2012 Child's Play$27,176120 Hours
8Zeldathon Water December 27, 2012 January 1, 2013 charity: water$45,273120 Hours[10]
9Zeldathon Lives July 5, 2013 July 10, 2013 National Foundation for Transplants$53,039120 Hours[11]
10Zeldathon: Headstone for a Hero October 4, 2013 October 6, 2013 Zachary's Headstone$10,20248 HoursMini-Marathon
11Zeldathon St. Jude December 27, 2013 January 1, 2014 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$54,965120 Hours
12Zeldathon Adventure July 10, 2014 July 17, 2014 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$97,251156 Hours[12][13][14][15]
13Zeldathon Relief December 27, 2014 January 2, 2015 Direct Relief$106,100141 Hours[16][17]
14Zeldathon Deluxe June 19, 2015 June 25, 2015 charity: water$196,097140 Hours[18]
15Zeldathon Hope December 27, 2015 January 2, 2016 Help Hope Live$251,554147 Hours[19][20]
16Zeldathon Recovery June 17, 2016 June 23, 2016 Direct Relief$230,077148 Hours[21][22][23][24][25]
17Zeldathon Classic October 14, 2016 October 17, 2016 Child's Play$27,54672 HoursMini-Marathon
18Zeldathon Cures December 27, 2016 January 2, 2017 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$376,157143 Hours[26]
19Zeldathon Wild June 5, 2017 June 11, 2017 The WILD Foundation$169,982147 Hours[27][28][29][30]
20Anything Other Than Zeldathon September 29, 2017 October 2, 2017 Help Hope Live$26,80375 HoursMini-Marathon - Did not play Zelda titles [31][32]
21Zeldathon Mission December 27, 2017 January 2, 2018 Direct Relief$224,665149 Hours[33]
22Zeldathon Champions June 15, 2018 June 21, 2018 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$160,013144 Hours
23Zeldathon Response December 27, 2018 January 2, 2019 Direct Relief$165,000145 Hours
24Zeldathon Heals June 13, 2019 June 20, 2019 Help Hope Live$170,049164 Hours
25Zeldathon Forces December 27, 2019 January 3, 2020 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$173,700153 hours10 year anniversary

Piece of Heart

In addition to their primary marathons, in 2019 the Zeldathon Team announced Piece of Heart, a convention-based charity event featuring Zeldathon participants.[34]

Title Start Date End Date Venue Charity Total Raised Duration Notes
Piece of Heart May 24, 2019 May 26, 2019 MomoCon 2019 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$16,05126 Hours

Parallel Worlds

At the end of Zeldathon Forces, the Zeldathon Team announced Zeldathon Parallel Worlds, an event focusing on non-Zelda titles. The team has said that this is its own line of events, rather than part of the main list of Zeldathon marathons. While originally planned to begin on June 4th 2020, it was announced in March 2020 that the event would be delayed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.[35]

Title Start Date End Date Charity Total Raised Duration Notes
Parallel Worlds Summer 2021 --Originally planned for June 2020

Other Events

In the same March 2020 announcement as the delay of Parallel Worlds, it was revealed that an online-only event would be held in its place, scheduled to begin on June 5th, in support of Direct Relief. The event was later given the title of Side Quest.[36] On June 3rd, it was announced that Side Quest would be delayed in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the George Floyd protests,[37] with a new starting date of August 7th announced in July.[38]

Title Start Date End Date Charity Total Raised Duration Notes
Side Quest 7 August 2020 12 August 2020 Direct Relief$71,000+127 HoursOnline-only Event

References
  1. Myers, Valerie. "Zeldathon to benefit children's cancer research". GoErie.com. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  2. Fekos, Konstantine (Jul 12, 2014). "Charity marathon featuring Zelda gaming to benefit St. Jude's". Meadville Tribune. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  3. "About Zeldathon". zeldathon.net. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  4. "Money Making Game". kickstarter.com. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  5. "6 People Who Inspire Us With Courage, Strength and Selflessness". Help Hope Live. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  6. "Zeldathon Timeline". zeldathon.net. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  7. Bissoon, Neranjan 'Venom' (2011-06-23). "Streaming for a good cause: Zeldathon and Mario Marathon". destructoid. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  8. "Zeldathon for Child's Play". Child's Play. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  9. Lien, Tracey (Jan 7, 2013). "Child's Play charity raised $5 million in 2012". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  10. Tach, Dave (Dec 27, 2012). "Zeldathon offers five days of Zelda for charity, streamed live". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  11. "Zeldathon a Huge Success for NFT!". www.transplants.org. National Foundation for Transplants. July 18, 2013. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  12. "Gamers virtually raise thousands of dollars for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® patients battling cancer, other deadly diseases" (Press release). St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. June 6, 2014. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  13. Fekos, Konstantine (Jul 18, 2014). "Zeldathon yields 'legendary' take of $101K for St. Jude's". Meadville Tribune. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  14. Whitehead, Thomas (2014-07-08). "The Zeldathon Adventure Kicks Off This Week To Raise a Whole Lot of Rupees". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  15. Heraghty, Bryan (July 17, 2014). "Zeldathon Raises $100,000 in Donations". techraptor.net. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  16. Futter, Mike (December 29, 2014). "Thirty-Three Gamers Participating In Charity 'Zeldathon' This Week". Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  17. "Zelda, The Legend, The Philanthropist". Direct Relief. 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  18. "New Zeldathon Revealed for the Summer: Live Stream for Charity". Zelda Dungeon. 2015-03-29. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  19. "One Year Later: The Legacy and Impact of Zeldathon Hope". Help Hope Live. 2016-12-27. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  20. "Zeldathon Hope: How The $250,000 Raised For HelpHOPELive Will Change Lives". Help Hope Live. 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  21. "Zeldathon, World's Most Legendary Gaming Marathon, Blasts Off for Charity" (Press release). Direct Relief. Retrieved 2018-05-04 – via www.prnewswire.com.
  22. Paynter, Ben (2016-07-07). "At Zeldathon, The Charity Race Meets The Game Controller". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  23. "Playing Zelda for Charity: Zeldathon". Philanthropic People. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  24. Lindquist, Joshua (2016-06-22). "Annual Zeldathon event raising money for Direct Relief charity". Zelda Universe. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  25. "Zeldathon Blasts Off for Charity". Direct Relief. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  26. Johnson, Shona (2016-12-29). "Zeldathon Cures streaming now; playing Zelda for charity". Zelda Universe. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  27. Mejia, Ozzie (9 June 2017). "Zeldathon Wild: The Best Moments So Far and What to Watch This Weekend". Shacknews. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  28. Rossignol, Derrick (2017-06-08). "A Livestreaming ZELDA Marathon Is Raising Money for Charity Right Now". Nerdist. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  29. "Zeldathon gaming marathon put on by locals starts Monday". Meadville Tribune. Jun 4, 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  30. Etehad, Melissa (Sep 29, 2017). "When hurricanes hit, philanthropic video game enthusiasts came to the rescue". latimes.com. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  31. SuperMCGamer. Anything Other Than Zeldathon - Part 1. Luigi's Mansion. Retrieved 2018-05-04 – via Twitch.
  32. SuperMCGamer. Anything Other Than Zeldathon - Part 2. Octodad: Dadliest Catch. Retrieved 2018-05-04 – via Twitch.
  33. "Zeldathon charity event to raise money for Direct Relief". GamesIndustry.biz (Press release). 21 December 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  34. "Piece of Heart - Trailer". YouTube. 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  35. "Zeldathon Update - 3.25.2020". YouTube. 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  36. "Join The #Zeldathon Team on June 5th for #SideQuest!". Twitter. 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  37. "#BlackLivesMatter". Twitter. 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  38. "#Zeldathon #SideQuest, benefiting @DirectRelief, will start on August 7th at 4PM EST!". Twitter. 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
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