I’m Just Happy
PRESS START 2026: Starting With Joy
There are some nights where everything just clicks.
The people. The energy. The cause. The laughs.
PRESS START, the kickoff to this year’s Streaming for Starlight campaign, was one of those nights.
I had the incredible opportunity to be featured twice during the event, beginning with a game of Mecha Chameleon alongside fellow Starlight Ambassadors and Ambassador Alumni. We were there to have fun, raise money and kick off another year of creators coming together to support Starlight Children’s Foundation.
And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, I became the “Happy Hunter.”
While I was hiding, IAmNahmuTTV noticed that I kept laughing and became convinced it meant he was getting close to finding me.
My response?
“No, I’m happy. I’m just happy.”
And I really was. At that moment, we had already raised $710 for Starlight. I was laughing, celebrating and genuinely just happy to be there helping bring some joy while supporting an organization that means so much to me.
A little later, when it was my turn to hunt, the name stuck: Happy Hunter.
By the time our game was over, PRESS START had crossed the first $1,000 raised for the 2026 Streaming for Starlight campaign.
Putting the FUN in Fundraising
Later that night, I came back for a conversation that felt especially meaningful to me: a panel all about fundraising, incentives, milestones and the creative chaos that comes with bringing a community together for a cause.
Hosted by Devan Tozzo, Starlight’s Senior Coordinator for the Streaming for Starlight Community, I joined AshSaidHi, PIX_STICH and Smirky to share some of the lessons—and laughs—we’ve collected through our own fundraising experiences. Everyone on the panel was either a current Starlight Ambassador or Ambassador Alumni, which made the conversation feel less like a traditional panel and more like a group of people swapping stories about something we all genuinely care about.
We talked about the “Ol’ Faithfuls”—those tried-and-true incentives that fundraisers can always count on—as well as the unexpected ideas that somehow become community favorites, and, of course, the things we’ve tried that we would probably never do again.
For me, one incentive has survived campaign after campaign because it is ridiculously simple:
Donate $1, and I bark.
Yes. Bark.
It started as one of those silly little fundraising incentives, but over the years it has become part of the experience. And when Devan asked what incentive I continue bringing back, there was no way I could talk about the $1 bark without demonstrating it.
I told the PRESS START chat that if someone donated at least $1, I would let Devan decide my fate: big dog or little dog?
Chat did not disappoint.
A $1 donation came through from a donor appropriately named “the tiny dog club.”
Of course it did.
And Devan knew exactly what needed to happen:
“I am doing a tiny bark for a tiny dog club.”
So, in the middle of a professional panel about years of charity fundraising experience, I barked.
And honestly? That is exactly what putting the FUN in fundraising looks like.
The incentives may be silly, but the purpose behind them isn't. Even a $1 donation gives someone a way to participate. It creates a moment the community can laugh about together, and every one of those moments contributes to something much bigger: helping Starlight bring joy to hospitalized kids and their families.
MORE THAN ONE NIGHT
PRESS START was the kickoff, but for me, it was also a reminder of why I keep coming back to Streaming for Starlight.
I’ve been fortunate to support Starlight Children’s Foundation through multiple campaigns, milestones and wonderfully chaotic fundraising moments. Every campaign looks a little different, but the reason behind them stays the same: using something I already love—creating content and bringing people together—to help bring joy to hospitalized kids and their families.
And this night was such a perfect example of that.
We played. We laughed. I became the Happy Hunter. I barked on a professional panel because someone named “the tiny dog club” donated a dollar. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, a community of creators and viewers helped launch the 2026 Streaming for Starlight campaign with more than $1,000 raised.
That’s what makes this kind of fundraising so special to me. The fun isn’t separate from the mission. The fun helps fuel the mission.
And PRESS START was only the beginning.
Throughout September, I’ll be continuing my own Streaming for Starlight campaign, leading up to one of the biggest events on my calendar: The Replay, my fourth annual Music Battle, on September 17.
This year, The Replay will also become a 24-hour charity stream, with a goal of raising $500 for Starlight Children’s Foundation.
So yes, I left PRESS START happy.
But more than anything, I left ready.
Let’s see how much joy we can create next. ⭐