CHIRK TEENAGER COMPLETES 24-HOUR GAMING MARATHON

A Chirk teenager has completed  a 24-hour video game streaming marathon to raise money for a new public garden Ellesmere to celebrate the centenary of the Save the Children charity, and  commemorate the local  two sisters who founded it.

Eighteen- year- old Liam Gibbons raised £160 in pledges from supporters who followed his non-stop effort which began at 9 a.m on Saturday and finished on Sunday morning.

The money will be shared between the international aid charity and the Ellesmere Sculpture Initiative, which is leading an 18-month community project.

The project, part-funded by grants from  the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council, England, is being  led by volunteers working in partnership with the Save the Children Charity, members of the Jebb family, local councils, schools and various community groups.

Work has already begun on developing a memorial garden next to the mere at Ellesmere which will feature a labyrinth and art installation, including an abstract sculpture representing Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton, who founded the aid agency in 1919 at the end of the 1st World War.  Artist Nick Eames has been forced to stop work because of the Coronavirus emergency, but plans to resume once restrictions have been lifted.

Liam is hoping his marathon has raised awareness of the project, as well as raising money for children displaced by conflict in countries such as Yemen, Syria and Myanmar.

Liam said “This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this, and it was extremely tiring. I’m so glad I was able to finish it, at times I felt like I was going to have to give up due to being so tired, but I powered through, I think my main motivation was knowing the money is going to such a good cause.”

The stream was shared through Liam’s Twitch channel “LiamG2818”, where he has a regular following of more than 282 other gamers.

The GoFundMe page for the stream will remain open for another week, to give other people a chance to donate.

Len Graham, chairman of the sculpture group, said:  “This was a very impressive feat by Liam to help publicise our project and support Save the Children, and we’d like to thank him for putting in so much time to it   It’s an unusual way to raise money and it shows how modern gaming  technology can be used  to benefit others.”

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Co-author: John Shone

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