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Alveus Sanctuary

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Alveus Sanctuary
FormationFebruary 2021[1]
Legal status501(c)(3) charitable organization
PurposeConservation and online education
HeadquartersAustin, Texas, U.S.[2]
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English
Executive Director
Maya Higa[2]
Revenue (2021)
$763,380[3]
Expenses (2021)$144,411[3]
Websitewww.alveussanctuary.org
AlveusSanctuary
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2021–present
Genres
  • Animals, Aquariums, and Zoos
  • Just Chatting
Followers228 thousand
Associated acts
Last updated: September 20, 2024

Alveus Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that houses non-releasable animals and provides online conservation education, primarily through 24/7 live-streamed content on Twitch.tv and produced content on YouTube.[4][5] The name Alveus is borrowed from Latin alveus ("the channel or bed of a river").

History and funding

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Maya Higa founded Alveus in February 2021, with a 21-hour-long live stream to raise initial capital to fund the sanctuary. The live stream raised over $500,000, with donations over $100 receiving a metal leaf that would be displayed at Alveus.[6][7] An auction was also held during the stream that included a pair of loafers from T-Pain and an hour with streamer Shroud, which was won by Ludwig Ahgren with a $53,000 donation.[8][9]

Alveus continues to use the live streams on Twitch as their main way to educate their audience on conservation and to raise funds to continue operating. Alongside accepting donations at any time on the stream, they also host many dedicated fundraising events, such as their 2022 Art Auction which sold off paintings created by the ambassadors at the sanctuary for donations, raising over $40,000 during the single event.[10]

Other content creators also help to raise funds for Alveus, either through collaboration streams at Alveus or through dedicated fundraising events for Alveus. At DreamHack Atlanta 2022, Ludwig raised $315,000 during his 50-hour-long glass box stream, with 50% of that being donated to Alveus.[11][12] Fellow streamers Britt and Malena held a fundraising live stream for Alveus in November 2022 and raised over $20,000 for the sanctuary, during a period of time where Higa had stepped away from streaming.[13]

In April 2023, the new CEO of Twitch, Dan Clancy, visited Alveus to meet the staff and ambassadors.[14][15] Clancy also donated his first month of earnings from his personal Twitch stream to Alveus.[16]

In September 2024, during the opening ceremony of the semi-annual TwitchCon event, Twitch announced a donation of $100,000 to Alveus Sanctuary.[17][18][19]

Conservation and education efforts

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Alveus takes in animals for a variety of reasons, some of them being non-releasable due to injuries or confiscations from the pet trade, and so on, with 32 animals at the sanctuary currently. These animals act as ambassadors for their species, all with different stories and conservation missions.[20][21] These animal ambassadors are used in Alveus' educational content to allow viewers to build a connection to the specific animal and then learn to care for the species as a whole. "I learned that model of people falling in love with an individual animal and then caring about their species and planet," Higa told KXAN. "If they knew, they would care, because they love these animals, and so my job is to be that bridge and teach people."[21]

Stompy, an emu, was the first ambassador at Alveus and helps educate viewers on the exotic meat trade, traditional medicine, and overexploitation of animal products in cosmetics. Higa hand-raised Stompy on many of her live streams as Alveus was initially built.[22] Other ambassadors at the sanctuary include macaws, American red foxes, a carpet python, donkeys, chinchillas, marmosets, and more.[20]

Alveus collaboration stream with Twitch streamer EsfandTV

The sanctuary is based on 15 acres of land in Austin, Texas,[22] but is not open to the public due to safety concerns. Education at Alveus all happens online in a few different forms, from the 24/7 live cams of the ambassadors at the sanctuary, to collaborations with different content creators to spread the conservation messaging to a wider audience, and other produced content.[23] Higa hosts Animal Quest, a live series where each episode introduces viewers to an ambassador at the sanctuary, teaches them about their story, their species' importance to the environment, and what they can do to help.[21][24]

On April 4, 2023, Higa and Alveus teamed up with Twitch to host a weekly show called Nerve Center presented by Ally, a sponsored education show based around the animals at Alveus. The guests for this show featured a roster of online creators, including Daily Dose of Internet, Lacari, Dareon, and Caroline Kwan.[25][26][27]

Awards and nominations

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Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2024 The Streamer Awards Best Shared Channel Nominated [28][29]

References

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  1. ^ "About Maya | Alveus Sanctuary". Alveus Sanctuary.
  2. ^ a b "Alveus Sanctuary Inc - GuideStar Profile". GuideStar.
  3. ^ a b "2021 | Annual Reports | Alveus Sanctuary". Alveus Sanctuary.
  4. ^ "AlveusSanctuary - Twitch". Twitch.tv. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024.
  5. ^ "Alveus Sanctuary - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Asarch, Steven (February 12, 2021). "Twitch Streamer MayaHiga Raises $573,000 to Start Animal Sanctuary". Insider. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Gordon, Eden Arielle (February 16, 2021). "Twitch's "Bird Girl" Raises $500,000 For Animal Sanctuary: Is Twitch the Future of Fundraising?". Popdust. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Lee, Jonathon (February 12, 2021). "Twitch in disbelief over man's $53,000 bid to hang out with popular streamer". Yahoo Finance. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Conlan, Daniel (February 11, 2021). "Maya's charity auction huge success as she goes bald, Ludwig pays $53k for hour with shroud". GINX. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023.
  10. ^ Polhamus, Blaine (April 23, 2022). "Maya Higa auctions off over $40,000 of art pieces painted by animals for Alveus Sanctuary". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023.
  11. ^ Parker, Ellie (November 21, 2022). "DreamHack Atlanta attracts 27K fans from around the world". Atlanta News First. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (November 21, 2022). "One glass box, 50 hours, and $300,000: Ludwig's IRL subathon at DreamHack, recapped". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023.
  13. ^ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (November 3, 2022). "Britt and Malena raise more than $20k during Alveus Sanctuary charity stream". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023.
  14. ^ Ng, Eric (April 13, 2023). "Twitch's new CEO defends job cuts, plans creator meeting". TradeAlgo. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "Maya talks about having the NEW Twitch CEO at Alveus". 18 April 2023. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ Serrano, Jody (July 15, 2023). "Twitch CEO Dan Clancy's Stream Is Starting". The Messenger. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023.
  17. ^ Kumar, Suresh (September 20, 2024). "Maya Higa Overwhelmed After Twitch Donates $100K to Support Alveus Animal Sanctuary". TheRecentTimes.
  18. ^ Pastuchow, Peter (September 22, 2024). "Twitch donates $100K to Maya Higa's animal sanctuary". Spilled.
  19. ^ "Twitch W". Twitch. September 20, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Ambassadors | Alveus Sanctuary". Alveus Sanctuary. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c Thompson, Kelsey (April 6, 2023). "How a Texas sanctuary uses social media to highlight animal conservation needs". KXAN. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023.
  22. ^ a b Hamilton, Tenijah (November 2, 2022). "The Streaming Sanctuary | BirdNote". BirdNote. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023.
  23. ^ "Collaborations | Alveus Sanctuary". Alveus Sanctuary. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
  24. ^ "Animal Quest | Alveus Sanctuary". Alveus Sanctuary. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023.
  25. ^ @mayahiga (Apr 4, 2023). "I HAVE A NEW SHOW!!!! I teamed up with @Twitch Streamer Originals as the host for Nerve Center presented by @Ally. Tune into the first episode TOMORROW at 11am CT! #ad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ @twitch (Apr 12, 2023). "Our host for Nerve Center is none other than @mayahiga! What animals will she bring out for our guest @TheRealDareon today?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ @twitch (Apr 12, 2023). "Our host for Nerve Center is none other than @maya_higa higa! What animals will she bring out for our guest today?". Retrieved May 28, 2023 – via Instagram.
  28. ^ "The Streamer Awards - Winners". The Streamer Awards. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024.
  29. ^ Taifalos, Nicholas; Michael, Cale (February 18, 2024). "Streamer Awards 2024: All results and winners for every category". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
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