Hasan Piker raises $1.3 million for earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria

Hasan Piker and his community have raised $1.3 million to support organizations providing aid after Turkey and Syria were devastated by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake Feb. 6.

Piker, who is Turkish-American and grew up in Istanbul, launched his #HasanAbiForTurkeySyriaEarthquakesFund later that day. Within 15 minutes of going live, the fund had received more than $150,000, including a $25,000 donation from Piker himself.

Piker made the fund a central part of his daily Twitch livestreams. By Feb. 7, it had reached nearly $750,000, and on Feb. 8, it hit $1 million, with a further $20,000 donation from Piker.

“We did it. Look at that,” Piker said on stream as the count crossed $1 million. “One million dollars. I want to shout out to everyone that has played a role in this. Every dollar counts.”

He later dropped out of Twitch’s Feb. 9 Streamer Bowl, saying he “felt bad leaving in the middle of this important moment” and wanted to dedicate his time to continuing the fundraiser.

At press time, the fund is sitting at $1,296,969.10.

Piker says all money given to the fund will be donated to CARE Turkey, CARE Syria, search and rescue organization AKUT, and disaster relief organization Ahbap within 30 days.

The fund has received thousands of individual donations, with top donors including fellow content creators like Ethan Klein (who donated $10,001), Jacksepticeye ($10,000), FaZe Clan ($10,000), Valkyrae ($10,000), Ludwig ($5,000), and CohhCarnage ($5,000). Donations also came in from video game developer PlayerUnknown ($20,000) and composer Steve Jablonsky ($8,000).

Donations are still being accepted here.