User:Organics/Zeldathon

Zeldathon is a biannual video game charity marathon hosted by the Fun for Freedom community. The Zeldathon team plays the Legend of Zelda video game series, completing every major video game in the series back-to-back over the course of several days. Game and camera footage are broadcast live to viewers through the Twitch live streaming service, and viewers are encouraged to donate directly to a selected charity in order to reach various goals and incentivize the attendees to perform various challenges, such as playing the game upside down or dressing up as a recurring video game character.

, the event has raised more than $215,000 for various charities during the 7 years it has been running, and its' twelfth event, titled Zeldathon: Adventure, ended on July 16, 2014 raising a further $101,621 to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Founding
The groups' first marathon, titled Zeldathon for Charity, commenced on December 27, 2009 with only 3 participants and ran for a period of 48 hours. The marathon raised a total of $301 for Child's Play.

Latter Events
The group's second marathon, titled Zeldathon for the American Cancer Society, began on December 27th, beginning their regular marathon schedule of bi-yearly marathons.((to do - Zeldathon for the American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society))

Zeldathon for the American Diabetes Association raised more than $4,000 for the American Diabetes Association(

Zeldathon: Quest raised funds for RJ, the family member of one of the founders of Zeldathon.(

Zeldathon for the American Red Cross raised $13,280 during its 96 hour course, setting a new record for the team's personal marathon length. Funds were raised for the American Red Cross.

'' Zeldathon for Child's Play (charity)((to do - Zeldathon for Child's Play))

Ultimate Zeldathon, the groups' seventh event, commenced on July 7, 2012 and ran for five days, raising $27,175.62 in support of Childs' Play.

Zeldathon: Water ran from December 27, 2012 until January 1, 2013, raising $45,301 for Charity: Water. Charity: Water used this money for to fund multiple projects in Ethiopia including 4 complete drilled wells.

Zeldathon: Lives commenced on July 5, 2013 with 25 attendees, and raised $53,045 for the National Foundation for Transplants.

Zeldathon: Headstone for a Hero was the groups' second mini-marathon for a local cause, raising funds for a local nonprofit to purchase a headstone to honor Zachary Aaron Baker, a local youth who died in a house fire earlier that year. The event ran for 48 hours and raised over $10,000.

((to do - Zeldathon: St Jude))

Zeldathon: Adventure commenced on July 10, 2014 and ran for approximately 155 hours with roughly 30 attendees. raising $101,621 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This was the first event to use the new Adventure system, where certain donation goals must be met to unlock each game and lengthen the marathon.

((to do - Zeldathon: Relief))

Honors
In December of 2015, the Zeldathon Team was awarded the "Help Award" by the HelpHOPELive for excellence in fund-raising. The award was given as a direct result of their effort in getting HelpHOPELive more than $250,000 in their 150-hour marathon.