Fantasy 6 site constructs winning team for charity
Vancouver’s Shafin Diamond Tejani is calling on B.C. millennials to get involved with charitable causes in their communities, especially with the holiday season underway.
According to the CEO of startup fantasy sports site Fantasy 6, it’s the “18-to-35-year-old demographic that not-for-profit groups and charities are having a hard time breaking into.”
And since that’s the exact demographic that uses his free gaming site to build fantasy sports teams to win prizes and compete against friends, Tejani has decided to promote local charities to raise awareness and encourage his users to donate.
On Saturday, Fantasy 6 started promoting The Province’s 2015 Empty Stocking Fund campaign, which is in its 97th year of helping community agencies buy gifts and put food on the table for families in need across B.C.
As players build fantasy NHL teams, the site will promote the fund by running the campaign logo and providing an option to donate on various landing pages, Tejani said.
“Digitally or by mobile is a very efficient way to get awareness to people and to raise funds,” said Tejani, adding that he believes it’s more effective than traditional fundraising methods such as organizing a gala or running a 50/50 draw.
The Empty Stocking Fund is also an important campaign for Tejani, who grew up in North Vancouver. His parents were Province subscribers and he remembers reading seasonal stories like this one in the paper about fundraising efforts and how they helped B.C. families.
“Every year during this time, I would be reading these stories, really touching, emotional stories of struggles that families and individuals would go through. And then you’d see The Province or other local groups or organizations kind of coming together to support them,” he said.
Fantasy 6 hopes to raise $10,000 for The Province’s 2015 Empty Stocking Fund with its hockey challenge, which launched Nov. 28 and will run for the next few weeks. To build a fantasy NHL team visit www.fantasy6.net.