Mark Rober – an American YouTuber and former NASA engineer – has announced his upcoming collaboration with Jimmy Kimmel to host a three-hour live stream fundraiser on YouTube. The Color The Spectrum: A Livestream To Support the Autism Community event will aim to raise money for the non-profit organization Next for Autism – which provides aid to people with autism and their families.
The fundraiser is particularly near and dear to Rober – whose son is diagnosed with autism. Recently, Rober shared a 10 minute video that introduced his autistic son to his 18.1 million YouTube subscribers and that gave an inside look into the life of an autistic person:
During the heart-felt video, Rober asked his audience to donate to the Next for Autism organization: within 24 hours of its release, the video had already generated more than $600,000 for the non-profit:
Here’s some evidence there’s a lot of good people on the internet too. $600k in the first 24hrs is beyond overwhelming. It still hasn’t really sunk in. Can’t wait to see you all on the livestream. #colorthespectrum #autismacceptance pic.twitter.com/DDBB4ML1Oi
— Mark Rober (@MarkRober) April 17, 2021
Rober also highlighted the importance of Autism-awareness in his YouTube video and welcomed viewers to attend his upcoming live-stream with Jimmy Kimmel:
“Autism awareness is such a personal cause for my family and me. It is inspiring to team up with Jimmy and Robert and create this unprecedented opportunity to bring together traditional entertainment stars with some of the world’s biggest YouTube creators. I don’t think we have ever seen these worlds unite on a scale like this before. The best part is that this is all being done for people in need and who are so deserving”.
The live-stream event will be produced by Kimmel’s production team and will be sponsored by brands such as Nexo, White Castle, Tommy Hilfiger, Ty Beanie Babies, Guidehouse, New York Life Investments, and Conagra Foods.
In my video I mention there is a “services cliff” after an autistic person graduates from High School (my son is almost there). Every last penny raised from #ColorTheSpectrum will go towards helping that transition. The 3 buckets below are the extent of how the money will be used pic.twitter.com/1DEchwO8nl
— Mark Rober (@MarkRober) April 20, 2021
Moreover, the live-stream event will feature appearances from world-renowned celebrities such as Jon Stewart, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Jack Black, Andy Samberg, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, MrBeast, Zach Galifianakis, Mark Hamill, Sarah Silverman, Terry Crews, Marques Brownlee, and Rhett & Link.
The Color The Spectrum: A Livestream To Support the Autism Community is set to air on April 30 at 8pm EST/5pm PST on Rober’s YouTube channel.