Vernon's Levi Myers thought that a $300 goal for his video game livestream fundraiser was ambitious enough. 

However, by the time his stream ended on Friday, May 16, seeing the number of $3,023.27 shocked him.

"I never imagined this kind of support and am grateful and humbled," Myers told The Morning Star. "I want to thank my wife, friends, family and community for coming together and absolutely smashing our goal."

Myers raised the funds for the North Okanagan Hospice Society (NOHS). His mother, Betty Ann Blin, died from cancer in 2013, and when she stayed at the Hospice House, Myers was impressed with how the staff treated his mother.

"The compassionate care she received during her final days meant everything to our family," he said. "I wanted to give back in a way that honoured her memory while supporting the incredible work they continue to do for our community."

As for the stream itself, Myers and his wife, Esme, organized it for May 16 which is Betty Ann's birthday.

"I had streamed frequently during COVID, so I had a lot of the gear still," he said. "Admittedly, it could have been planned better and been a more professional production, but all things considered, it went extremely well."

For 16 hours (8 a.m.- 12 a.m.), Myers streamed games such as Slay the Spire, Celeste and Fall Guys on Twitch, with some of his friends joining remotely.

"I set up a thing called the Wheel of Pain, where donations of $20 or more would activate the wheel," Myers said. "The wheel options were things that I don't like eating/doing."

Some of the not-so-fun options included eating an olive, doing 20 pushups, drinking shots of kombucha and eating chicken wings with hot sauce on them.

" After 5 p.m., the wheel changed towards more inebriating things," laughed Myers, who stressed that if anyone were to watch the stream back, it was produced solely by him and not representative of the NOHS. "I'm also alarmed at how many people wanted to see me suffer for a good cause!"

In just three and a half hours, his stream had already reached the $300 mark, and by the end, Myers was visibly emotional.

"I've already got some plans brewing for next year's event with more friends involved, a better production setup, and new challenges to hopefully spread the pain out a bit," he laughed.

To watch the stream, visit