Madden 19 Tournament Shooting Victim Support GoFundMe Campaign Created

Sunday, August 27th saw a terrible tragedy unfold in the gaming and esports communties as three people, including the gunman himself, were killed and 11 other individuals were injured during a shooting at a Madden NFL 19 tournament that was being held in Jacksonville, Florida. 

An outpouring of support has since come from all angles of the video game and esports industries to all of the victims from the tragic event. One of these efforts has been the joint GoFundMe campaign that esports organization Gankstars and non-profit organization Joint Forces Initiative have partnered together to create to help the victims and their families with medical and other expenses. 

You can find the direct link to the GoFundMe campaign for the victims of the Madden NFL 19 tournament tragedy created by Gankstars and the Joint Forces Initiative here.

We partnered with Joint Forces Initiative non-profit to create a tax-deductible campaign to help the victims of today's shooting. We can't take away the pain, but we can come together as gaming community to help with their medical/other costs. Plz share: https://t.co/3zJ1NS52lL

— Gankstars (@gankstars) August 27, 2018

An official description of the campaign can be found below.

"At least 4 lives were lost today and 11 others wounded at a gaming event in Jacksonville, FL when a gunman opened fire... Here's Google news feed about this tragedy. Please contribute what you can to help the victims and their families deal with medical and other expenses. 

What happened today is incredibly sad and something we hoped would never happen in our overwhelmingly-peaceful community. We cannot bring back the lives lost and the pain caused, but we can at least help those affected deal with the medical, funeral, and other bills. 

You can run your own campaign that contributes to this fund, if you'd prefer a more personalized page/message. We will be collaborating with pro gamers, streamers, endemic businesses, and perhaps even traditional sports athletes in the coming days to raise awareness of the campaign - we will issue updates as we finalize commitments. Want to participate? Please see below for contact.

CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE as they're going to a certified non-profit, Joint Forces Initiative. 100% of your donation goes towards this specific cause and not for other operations of the non-profit. The non-profit was founded to help connect troops with pro athletes through video games, and later expanded its focus to support other charitable causes related to gaming. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION

For any questions or to join, please contact Alex Novosad of Gankstars via Twitter or email (pwnt@gankstars.gg), or Greg Zinone of Joint Forces Initiative/514 Esports via email (gzinone@514esports.com) or phone (818-371-1283)."

The Joint Forces Initiative is a non profit organization that works to connect and support military forces across the world with celebrities and professional athletes through the power of video games and is best known for its Pro vs. GI Joe program. 

Gankstars is a professional esports organization who has teams and players in multiple of the top esports titles in the world. 

While the heinous crime that was committed in Jacksonville, Florida has rocked the worlds of gaming and esports, many individuals and entities of these communities have banded together to help and support all those affected and remember the innocent lives that were lost. 

(cover photo courtesy of GoFundMe and PowerUp!)