- Student
- 17/12/2024
Zephyr board to undergo 36 hours of ‘teasing’ for charity
Watch live as the board members of student esports association Zephyr are all locked in a house for 36 hours straight, playing videogames and carrying out funny tasks. The association’s Charity Stream will kick off on December 21. With this live stream, the students aim to raise money for Kus van Kiki, a charity with a special significance that was set up in honor of the cousin of one of the board members, who died of cancer at a young age.
A light-hearted and funny event, for a charity with a serious theme. This suits both esports club Zephyr and Kiki, board member Roos Verbakel believes. She herself didn’t know her fellow board member’s cousin, “but based on what I heard about her, she came across as someone with a great zest for life, who was all about having fun and enjoying things for as long as she could.” So when the board member in question suggested Kus van Kiki to the rest of the board as a possible charity for the stream, it was basically a done deal. And although they didn’t actually talk much about her among themselves, everyone was touched by her story, Verbakel says. “She also participated in the television show Over Mijn Lijk. I watched a few episodes and had tears streaming down my face. It’s special to watch a show that’s about the cousin of someone you know.”
The students mainly hope to raise money through ‘donating tiers’: when a certain amount is reached, they have to do a crazy task. Provided viewers donate enough, the students will, for example, wax their legs, dye their hair red, or even get a tattoo. Verbakel herself promised to bleach and dye her eyebrows if enough donations come in. She thinks this kind of ‘teasing’ works well to motivate viewers to donate money, especially fellow students. “We were having drinks in Hubble the other day when friends from squash association Quatsch came over and asked how much it would cost for Steven (board member and Kiki’s cousin, ed.) to cut off all of the hair on his head. And how much it would be to have not one but two of another member’s legs waxed. They were quite passionate about it.”
Grandparents
Not only students are supposed to watch the stream, however. Members of Zephyr, for example, also had the event displayed on screens throughout the university and brought the live stream to the attention of family and friends. Last week, Verbakel stopped by her grandparents’ house to set up Twitch – the channel on which the stream will be shown. “I advised them to tune in for specific moments, for example when I’ll be cooking – for those who want to cook with me, the recipes are on the website by the way – but I think my grandfather plans to just leave it on in the background.” She can’t help but laugh a bit at the idea that this means he’ll also see the shenanigans the other students will get up to. “But my grandparents like to see what my life as a student is like. And this is part of it.”
The board members won’t all be on screen for the entire 36 hours; a bedroom will also be available for a brief nap in between, Verbakel says. “We made a schedule so everyone will know at what time they’re on.” Despite the prospect of little sleep, she can’t wait to get started. “I think it’s going to be heartwarming. It’s a charity with an intense backstory, but it will be great for that very reason.” Kiki’s family, who also wrote a text about her on the event page, will probably stop by at the end of the stream to receive a check for the amount raised.
Zephyr’s Charity Stream will begin on December 21 at 12 noon and end on December 22 at midnight. You can follow the livestream on Zephyr’s Twitch channel and donate using a link on the event page. All other revenues raised through Twitch (such as subscriptions to Zephyr’s channel) will go directly to Kus van Kiki.
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