Balena Productions Returns for Annual Charity Stream

It’s one of our favorite times of the year here at Dreamscape Foundation. As a non-profit, charity and giving sit at our core and no season embraces this nature better than Christmas. It’s a passion many people share with us, including our old friend Steven Page of Balena Productions.

What is Balena Productions?

There are many YouTube channels, but at more than 10 years producing content, Balena Productions is one of the veterans.

“I basically make animations on YouTube,” Steve said. “Specifically around Sonic the Hedgehog. I’ve been doing it for many, many years, and I hope to be doing it for many more. I love everything I do.”

It isn’t a hobby, either. This is Steven’s full-time job. It has to be with the time it takes to produce quality animations to go with his witty voiceover work. While the latter is his true passion, the two skills go hand-in-hand.

“That’s what I truly aspire to be is a full-time voice actor,” he said. “I had started off by using static screenshots and adding the voiceover afterward, but as my channel grew into this Titan that it’s become, I had to make my content better for my viewers. If you take a look at the beginning of my channel to the newer things on my channel, you’ll see there’s a huge evolution. I was never trained, I didn’t go to college or anything like that. I just sort of picked up along the way.”

The Christmas with Sonic Series

Through the years, Balena Productions formed a tradition called the Christmas with Sonic series. What began with one video triggered a desire for more from the fans who now look forward to these videos every year.

“Christmas is that special time of year, of course, full of fun and wonder,” Steven said, “but Christmas is Sonic’s main root was that we wanted to make relatable Christmas videos for everyone. It couldn’t just be just Sonic the Hedgehog running around for Christmas. We wanted to hit that special place of awkward, uncomfortable Christmases for people, but at the same time having them be the best Christmases as well.”

A Smashing Charity Stream Just in Time for the Holidays

Christmas with Sonic isn’t the only tradition. Balena Productions also does an annual charity stream with Dreamscape Foundation in support of our cause.

“Joe Sehwani, the wonderful guy he is, came to me a couple of years ago, and he said, ‘Oh, I love your videos. We have this charity and we would love to do something’,” Steven explained. “I had been waiting for a charity to come along. I love giving back, especially when Joe’s message is about helping the families with these kids with rare disabilities and diseases. I think it’s a really good cause to help these parents around Christmas. It costs so much just to stay alive these days and for Joe and the Dreamscape Foundation to want to help these parents, that’s really great.”

This year’s stream is taking place over the course of two evenings: one on December 7 and the other on December 8. The streams will take place on the Balena Productions YouTube channel at 8pm EST or 5pm PST.

During that time, viewers can participate as they go to battle on Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and donate to the cause through Dreamscape Foundation’s campaign on their website.

There are 4 bundles to choose from, with special rewards depending on your donation tier:

$10: Receive a Dreamscape Foundation T-Shirt
$30: Receive a Dreamscape Foundation T-Shirt and a chance to win a PC copy of Sonic Forces
$50: Receive a Dreamscape Foundation T-Shirt, a Hooba Dooba T-Shirt, and a chance to win a copy of Super Smash Brothers Ultimate
$100: Receive a Dreamscape Foundation T-Shirt, a Hooba Dooba T-Shirt, a copy of Sonic Forces on PC, a chance to win Super Smash Brothers Ultimate for Switch, and a chance to win an Alexa Echo Dot with smart plug

All donations will be split between two causes: Toys for Tots and Accessible Technology, which we purchase for individuals and families who cannot afford them on their own. The goal is to raise $1,500 toward these causes.

Should participants exceed this goal within the first hour, Steven promises a full playthrough of Sonic Forces.

“I love working with the Dreamscape Foundation,” Steven proclaimed. “I would never turn them down. It’s been a lot of fun, too. We’ve has so many good times with the Dreamscape streams and I can’t wait to dive back into it this Friday.”

To tune in Friday, go to https://www.youtube.com/user/Balenaproductionsat 8pm EST or 5pm PST.

Everything You Need to Know About AmazonSmile

Are you looking for a way to contribute to causes you care about? AmazonSmile makes donating to charities strikingly easy. In fact, it’s completely automatic.

With more than 54 million Amazon Prime members alone, most of us aren’t strangers to this online shopping behemoth. With great deals on pricing and many items available for free shipping, Amazon is our go-to for the stuff that we need—and the stuff that we want.

Now they’re making giving easy through their free AmazonSmile program.

All you have to do is point, click, and purchase!

What is AmazonSmile and How Does It Work?

AmazonSmile is the same Amazon platform you’ve come to know and love, just with a different URL and some added perks.

Simply visit AmazonSmile with your usual account and the company will donate 0.5% of all purchases made on products participating in the program. This is not an additional fee you pay. In fact, the program doesn’t cost you anything at all.

You just choose a charity to give to and Amazon and its participating vendors take care of the rest.

Upon your first visit, Amazon will ask you to select a charity. Browse the options shown or use the search bar to find Dreamscape Foundation or another favorite charity, and click search. Once they pop up, you select your charity of choice.

Then you’re done! Simple, right?

Once your selection is complete, you’ll find the charity you’re supporting at the top of the page underneath the main search bar.

Is It Possible to Change Charities?

Yes!

AmazonSmile understands that some hearts are too big for one charity. If you want to switch things up or alternate which charity benefits from each purchase you make, simply:

Click on Accounts & List from the top menu bar
Select “Your Account”
Select “Change Your Charity” under the “Shopping Programs and Rentals” section
Find your preferred charity through the search bar

Once you’re done, you can view a couple of fun statistics, including how much money you have generated in donations during the lifespan of your account.

How AmazonSmile Impacts Dreamscape & Other Charities

AmazonSmile calculates its donations by taking 0.05% of the price of each participating product you buy and donating it to the charity you have selected at the time of purchase. While this doesn’t include sales tax, shipping and handling, service charges, gift-wrapping fees, or any amount taken off from coupons or rebates, it still ads up.

As of February 2018, this program has donated $80,134,317.33 across all charities participating in the program. This is money that goes directly into your favorite nonprofit’s budget so they can further their outreach and continue to change lives through their efforts.

For Dreamscape Foundation, that means more funds for us to put toward awareness programs, building a community, and helping individuals who struggle to adapt to daily living because of visual impairments or other disabilities.

Pennies add up. Just like the savings you earn on your credit card, the little bit collected from every purchase you make becomes another drop in a bucket shared between all nonprofit supporters.

Will you add to those donations? Add AmazonSmile to your Amazon account and start giving back today.