The ultimate gamer’s charity marathon returns in support of sick children this Christmas

The Jingle Jam, an annual charity event which makes the world a better place for children and young people by leveraging the power of video games and streaming, is taking place again this December. Once again, Jingle Jam will be supporting Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal as one of their eight chosen charities. 

The two week live streaming event begins on 5 pm Sunday 1 until Saturday 14 December and has raised over £25 million for charity since its inception in 2011.

Since 2017, Jingle Jam has supported Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, the dedicated charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital, raising over £1.8 million to date of the £2.9 million target to help make the UK’s first Patient Hotel a reality. 

The event is viewed around the world, regularly attracting 250,000 unique viewers to the variety of streams and video content hosted by creators online to fundraise. 

During the event, streamers fundraise for specific charities, calling on donations during their events. Famous YouTuber and content creator The Spiffing Brit is one of the streamers fundraising for The Grand Appeal this year. With a fanbase in the millions, his specialty is playing real-time strategy games while drinking Yorkshire Tea.

Money is also raised by the release of the specially curated Jingle Jam Games Collection, available with a minimum donation of £35, with all proceeds going to charity. At the donation checkout, the purchaser can decide how much they wish to donate, and which charity to support. 

Image: Jingle Jam 2024 

The incredible sum raised to date for Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal will go towards a ground-breaking new development that will provide accommodation and offer therapy and rehabilitation under one roof.  As the first of its kind in the UK, the Patient Hotel, which will be named Jingle Jam Building, will enable patients to stay with their families and receive ongoing support once they no longer require around the clock in-patient care in hospital.   

The facilities will benefit children with a range of medical conditions, including those undergoing neurorehabilitation following a brain injury, those recovering from complex orthopaedic surgeries, and children who need daily input from dieticians, speech and language therapists or nutritionists. 

Lewis Brindley, a Trustee of Jingle Jam, said: “Every year in December, we turn our focus to raising as much money as possible for amazing charities, like Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal.

"The gaming industry comes together for the Jingle Jam to help create an incredible Games Collection to encourage gamers to dig deep and donate.

“We’ve been working with Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal since 2017 and it's amazing for us to be at a point where all that fundraising is about to be turned into an incredible reality with the Patient Hotel.

"We want this year to be bigger than ever to help reach that all important fundraising target, and to do this we need everyone’s help in spreading the word. The more people that hear about Jingle Jam – the more we can raise.”

Sarah McBride, Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, added: “Jingle Jam is a huge highlight in our fundraising calendar, thanks to our long-standing partnership with the Jingle Jam charity. 

“We are enormously grateful for their ongoing commitment. The money they have raised towards funding the Patient Hotel has been phenomenal and has only been made possible thanks to the Jingle Jam community, its army of volunteers, creators, games companies and the thousands of generous gamers who have donated from all over the world, year after year. 

“Now, we need your help to reach our target - so treat yourself or a loved one this December to an incredible Games Collection at amazing value, while supporting critically ill and sick children in our region by selecting Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal at the checkout.”

Image: Jingle Jam 2024

As the Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity, Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal funds ground-breaking medical equipment, three family accommodation houses, 10 specialist support staff and a programme of art, music and play in partnership with the hospital and its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St Michael’s Hospital.

For more information on Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, the Patient Hotel, and the services they help to fund visit www.grandappeal.org.uk.

To keep up to date with news from Jingle Jam, follow @jinglejamofficial on Instagram. To join the official Jingle Jam livestreams and donate to receive the 2024 Games Collection (from 5 pm GMT on Sunday 1 December through to 14 December), visit jinglejam.tiltify.com.