CDawgVA raises $1 million for the Immune Deficiency Foundation by biking 620 miles across Japan

CDawgVA just raised over $1 million for the Immune Deficiency Foundation by biking 620 miles across Japan.

The two-week journey was the third installment of his annual “Cyclethon,” where he collects donations for the Immune Deficiency Foundation to mark April’s Primary Immunodeficiency Awareness Month.

During last year’s event, CDawgVA (who has 1.3 million followers on Twitch) raised $552,000, and in 2022 he raised $300,000—meaning this year’s final total, $1,061,100, is more than both those years combined.

For the Cyclethon, he biked from Shimonoseki, which is southwesternmost city on Japan’s main island, to its capital, Tokyo. That’s 619.9 miles exactly, or around a 12-hour drive according to Google. Biking, of course, took much longer; CDawgVA left Shimonoseki April 1, and arrived in Tokyo April 14. He livestreamed the entire journey from cameras strapped to him, and was broadcasting for between eight and 12 hours of cycling every day, all while his viewers donated.

This one event has already broken CDawgVA’s fundraising goal for the year: He hoped to raise $1 million across all of 2024.

“Last year I said I wanted to raise a million dollars for charity and raised an amazing $905,383 [in 2023],” he tweeted. “This year I wanted to make sure I succeed. I thought it could be done, but didn’t expect in my wildest ambitions we’d crush that in one event. Thank you everyone and the team!”

The Immune Deficiency Foundation retweeted his post, adding, “We cannot express how grateful we are. Absolutely blown away. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to the PI community. You all just changed so many lives.”

CDawgVA isn’t the only streamer with plans to raise money for Primary Immunodeficiency Awareness Month. VTuber Ironmouse, who has common variable immunodeficiency and regularly works with the Immune Deficiency Foundation, is hosting a “charity adventure” Dungeons & Dragons campaign on her Twitch channel April 22, with all proceeds going to the foundation.