A PARLIAMENTARY motion has been submitted to congratulate Youtuber Harris Brewis following an epic 57-hour live Donkey Kong play session that raised over £250,000 for trans charity Mermaids.
The charity offers advice and support for families with transgender and gender diverse children.
Brewis, known as H. Bomberguy online, took to streaming platform Twitch to broadcast his attempt to complete Donkey Kong 64 to 101% in record-time.
It took a whopping 57 hours to complete the task.
However, instead of raising $3000 as originally intended, the gamer's final total was over $340,000.
During the live broadcast, guests from around the world dropped in to discuss issues around trans rights and politics, including US Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chelsea Manning, Paris Lees, Owen Jones and Mara Wilson.
Following the incredible success of the fundraiser, Green MSP Patrick Harvie submitted a motion to Holyrood to congratulate Brewis on his achievement.
Including @thegoodcatboy (cc @ellenfromnowon) and @AOC in a Scottish parliamentary motion offering congratulations to the phenomenal fundraising effort by @Hbomberguy for @Mermaids_Gender may be the pinacle of my career to date! #ThanksGraham pic.twitter.com/NDffb5Txy6
— Chloë Minish (@ChloeMinish) January 21, 2019
The motion reads: "That the Parliament congratulates the online gamer, Harry Brewis, who is known by the handle HBomberGuy, on raising over $340,000 for the charity, Mermaids UK, by livestreaming a non-stop play-through of Donkey Kong 64 using the platform, Twitch; understands that Mermaids provides individual and family support for gender diverse and transgender children and young people; understands that it was chosen by Harry following pressure from a well-known television and comedy writer to have a planned lottery grant removed from the charity; believes that the live stream was joined by a global audience of supporters, ranging from US Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the Northern Irish trans icon and campaigner, Bilbo the Cat, and hopes that the outpouring across social media and the volume of donations will go some way to reassuring transgender and gender diverse children and young people that they are welcomed, valued and will be supported."
The motion has been supported by John Finnie, Mary Fee, Bill Kidd, Alison Johnstone, Mark Ruskell, Ross Greer and Sandra White.
In an earlier video, Brewis explained his reasons for choosing to donate to Mermaids.
He said: "I chose to support [Mermaids] because as a person living in Britain, I find the media discussion around this issue to be woefully misinformed, and I’d like to do my bit to help support the people who do the hard work of contributing to people’s thinking on an issue."
Following the fundraiser, Mermaids tweeted a thank you to Brewis, saying they were "overwhelmed by all the love being felt for Mermaids, trans kids and the trans community tonight".
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