Fortnite has over 350 million monthly active players, making it one of the most popular games on the planet. Since its release in 2017, the game has continued to grow in terms of users and revenue. People don’t just like to play the game anymore, thanks to platforms like Twitch. They also enjoy watching others play it.
Michael Reynolds, also known as The Fierce Diva, is a West Virginia native from Dunbar. He started streaming Fortnite on Facebook in 2020 and has since gained 37k followers, with each video receiving thousands of views.
Reynolds said he wanted to give back to West Virginia during Black History Month and decided to lead a fundraising campaign for the Mountaineer Food Bank.
In 48 of West Virginia’s 55 counties, the Mountaineer Food Bank helps people who are hungry. According to Feeding America, one out of every seven West Virginians is hungry. Reynolds said partnering with Mountaineer Foodbank was an easy decision for him.
Reynolds has raised money for charity before, and he says that giving back is an important part of his page, as is having real and open discussions about mental health, which he believes is a problem that many in the gaming community face.
Reynolds explained that he attended graduate school for national development and conflict resolution but was unable to find work in the field after graduation. It’s a struggle that nearly half of recent graduates face, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Reynolds said he’d always loved video games and after some encouragement from his friends, he decided to start his own streaming page with the goal of using his studies to build a community around his streaming that would have an impact. Reynolds began assisting his followers by paying for their services on Better Help, an online platform where people can visit with a licensed therapist via video call, phone, or messaging, in addition to engaging in discussions about diversity and mental health.
Then, in 2021, he aided in the fundraising for the Thurgood Marshall College Martin Luther King Jr. fund. On Facebook, Day is joined by other Black game creators.
