Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast and also known as the most followed content creator on YouTube, stays busy producing the kind of content that reaches a rabid fanbase. Recent videos and views include “7 Days Stranded in the Arctic” ($102 million), “100 People Stranded in the Wild for $250,000” ($142 million), “Last One to Leave Grocery Store Wins $250,000” ($172 million), and “Survive 30 Days with Your Ex, Win” $250,000 ($132 million).
On Saturday morning, MrBeast departed from his regular stream to drop new content focusing on charity and featuring a surprise appearance from superstar LeBron James. The new video, “I Helped 100 Kids Fight Cancer,” debuted on Saturday, and finds MrBeast doing so by turning his attention to children and young people who are or have been fighting the disease as a way to brighten their days and make their wishes come true while raising money and awareness for scientific research.
The campaign represents a collaboration between Donaldson’s charitable organization Beast Philanthropy, Stand Up to Cancer, the biopharmaceutical company Amgen, and the St. Paul Foundation. Baldrick’s Foundation for Children’s Cancer Research. He’s also getting help from the NBA’s amazing LeBron James Family Foundation. Viewers are encouraged to support the upcoming SU2C Pediatric Cancer Dream Team, which unites leading scientists and researchers from across institutions and disciplines to “accelerate the pace at which new treatments reach the patients who need them.”
“Every year, more than 105,000 children around the world lose their lives to cancer, and we are working to change that,” MrBeast said. “Behind every life saved is an army of doctors, researchers, volunteers and organizations – like the Stand Up to Cancer campaign, which works to raise awareness and fund research to discover and cure cancer, and St. Baldrick’s, where heroes and volunteers shave their heads in solidarity with children fighting cancer – as well as companies like Amgen, which is developing the next generation of cancer treatments. Together, every step brings us a little closer to a world without cancer.”
As for the clip, it shows James teaming up with MrBeast to surprise six local St. Baldrick’s kids and other childhood cancer survivors at the LeBron James Family Foundation’s I PROMISE School in Akron, Ohio. Together they shared the court and shot some hoops with James, who also participated in a head-to-head shootout with MrBeast. James even provided the keys to the development of his establishment called House Three Thirty, which is described as a destination to “make dreams come true” through its offerings of food, retail, arts, entertainment and mentorship. MrBeast went there for activities followed by a tour of the LeBron James Museum and dinner at Buckets.
“It means a lot to me and my organization to be a part of uplifting these amazing kids and giving them a day to just have fun,” James said. “It was an honor to share the playground with them, and even better to share our space and create amazing memories with their families. We just wanted them to know they are superheroes in real life.”
Other highlights of “I Helped 100 Kids Fight Cancer” include MrBeast teaming up with Dr. Mike to launch a blood drive in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, with the goal of saving 1,000 lives and a stop by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where he met the kids as well as Dr. Alan S. Wayne, with whom he discussed the need for more cancer research and the importance of giving hope to children in the fight.
“Most people don’t realize that cancer is the number one killer of children in the United States,” said Katie Couric, co-founder and media entrepreneur at SU2C. “Every child deserves a chance to thrive, and the research we will fund through this campaign can help make that happen.” “I am so impressed that MrBeast is using this massive scale, rivaling major live television events, to ask people around the world to do something that will benefit children and families whose lives have been turned upside down by this terrible disease.”
MrBeast added: “No child should have to deal with cancer and we hope, by supporting the SU2C Children’s Cancer Dream Team, we can help stop it.” More information about the campaign and how to support it can be found here.
