In 2017, YouTuber Elton Castee spent 151 hours livestreaming from a dog kennel; the campaign ultimately raised $188,275 for SPCA LA, including Hurricane Harvey relief

Elton Castee, a YouTuber, in 2017 concluded a livestream that lasted for 151 hours from a dog kennel and raised $188,275 for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (SPCA LA). Castee had entered kennel 420 at the SPCA LA PD Pitchford Companion Animal Village & Education Center in Long Beach, California, at noon on 27 August 2017. He planned to remain there until donations reached his original target and broadcast continuously from the facility while viewers kept up with the challenge online. According to SPCA LA’s press release, Castee ended his livestream after exceeding his revised goal of raising $150,000.A memorial initiative expanded to support Hurricane disaster reliefAfter losing his adopted dog named Sparta in 2016, Castee approached SPCA LA in May 2017 regarding the initiative, three months before streaming. The fact that he had adopted his dog from the same organisation made the fundraising as a tribute very fitting. He started the livestream with an initial target of reaching $100,000, which he achieved on the morning of 30 August after three continuous days of streaming. Afterwards, Castee upped the ante and increased the goal to $150,000, of which $50,000 was allocated towards SPCA LA’s Disaster Animal Response Team (DART).Around the same time, when Castee had entered the kennel, Hurricane Harvey had struck the Gulf Coast. SPCA LA responded accordingly, in coordination with Houston SPCA, and prepared to send responders to Texas; the two organisations had worked together as a team during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike.In their announcement made on 30 August 2017, SPCA LA had planned to deploy DART as part of the third wave of responders, potentially beginning on 2 September. On 3 September, a follow-up announcement confirmed that DART members had set off to Texas on the morning of the day before to support and assist Houston SPCA. The deployed team consisted of humane officers, veterinary staff, and animal caregivers. The money raised by Castee was intended to support medical supplies, transport for animals, and all other expenses incurred during the Hurricane Harvey rescue effort.Donations sustained animal welfare servicesThe fundraising campaign found its supporters in the form of individual donors alongside sales from Castee’s clothing line called the SEND IT CC. SPCA LA also stated in September 2017 that by the time Castee’s live streaming concluded, it had garnered a viewership of more than seven million people who tuned in. On top of that, the live stream received 1,500 comments per second, and this broadcast, titled “Locked in a Kennel,” was consistently ranked among YouTube’s top three videos.For an independent organisation that operated without any financial backing from a national SPCA parent organisation or umbrella group, these donations were highly important. In response, SPCA LA President Madeline Bernstein said: “I can’t say enough about Elton’s determination and the generosity of his fans. From the bottom of our hearts – Thank you!”The SPCA LA was established in 1877 and operated in Southern California. It was set up with the objective of providing food, a safe shelter, and veterinary care for animals who had been abused and abandoned while investigating cases of animal cruelty across Los Angeles County. Besides animal welfare, the organisation has also established programmes to prevent violence, intervene when needed, and educational initiatives for middle and high school students in the communities of Compton, Hawthorne, Long Beach, and Hollywood.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.