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"  If you don&amp;#039;t know who Tyler Oakley is, you might want to take notice. The 24-year-old vlogger&amp;#039;s YouTube channel has nearly four million subscribers, his Twitter has almost two million followers, and earlier this week he raised over $30,000 for The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention to LGBT youths\u2014in just four hours. Three days later, his Prizeo campaign has topped $122,000, putting him just $28,000 short of his $150,000 goal with 46 days to go. To say this is extraordinary is an understatement. But what&amp;#039;s most notable about Oakley&amp;#039;s fundraising achievement is the donations themselves. Thousands of his fans, who skew younger, but range from 13 to 60, have donated in smaller increments, with a vast chunk giving just $10. Oakley, who is offering up a chance to win a date with him in L.A. as an incentive to donate, is a bona fide celebrity in the Internet world, and has a fleet of dedicated fans who feel like they know him through his YouTube videos. Which is why his campaign for The Trevor Project has been so successful, as evidenced through the comments left on the donation page: I hope this helps! I could only donate a little, but it is the thought that counts! I hope that this will skyrocket! Tyler, you&amp;#039;re amazing! Using social media for philanthropy is just as good as it is for sharing twerk videos. #respect I donated only 10 dolars[sic] because that&amp;#039;s what my dad let me, but if I could I would donate more. I love The Trevor Project and they are helping me to stay here, alive and happy, just like Tyler I adore you, my queen &amp;amp;lt;3 You&amp;#039;re changing lives everyday and that&amp;#039;s why we all love you so much, you&amp;#039;re an inspiration to so many young people... oh and you&amp;#039;re fabulous. We caught up with Oakley to find out why The Trevor Project is so important to him, what the &amp;quot;selfie Olympics&amp;quot; are, and what an IRL date with a YouTube star would look like: For those who are unfamiliar with your channel, can you explain in a few words what your videos are about? I talk about anything and everything ranging from crazy personal stories, to celebrity interviews, to epic challenges with some of my favorite YouTube personalities. You are a Viral KING: nearly $35,000 in four hours, not to mention how your videos explode the Internet\u2026HOW DO YOU DO IT? Over the past six years I&amp;#039;ve been fortunate enough to grow a really strong relationship with my audience based on honesty and mutual respect. I think my people respond well to that and share the same level of commitment to doing good in the world. I also think my audience is really excited to win some really cool rewards, not to mention the opportunity to hang out with me in L.A. You&amp;#039;ve been involved with The Trevor Project for a while\u2014interning for them and raising money for them in the past\u2014why is this charity so important to you? My audience is really young and having gone through a lot of the same experiences they&amp;#039;re going through, I know how important it is for someone to feel like they&amp;#039;re not alone. I read stories every day from my viewers from all around the world about how The Trevor Project has impacted their lives. Whether they&amp;#039;ve called the crisis and suicide prevention hotline or not, knowing the resource is available could mean the difference between life and death. You obviously have great fans\u2014so many of them donated\u2014who are they? Why do you think they respond so well to you/this cause? They&amp;#039;re people from all over the world who get excited about what an online community can do together. It was important for me to tell them that it wasn&amp;#039;t about a few people donating a huge amount, rather it was about the community coming together and donating what they can\u2014and clearly, the power of coming together can be seen in us raising over $100,000 in the first 30 hours. The timing for fundraising for The Trevor Project seems particularly fitting with all the controversy surrounding the Sochi Olympics and Russia&amp;#039;s anti-gay laws. How do you feel about what&amp;#039;s been going on? The silver lining of the Sochi Olympics is that it brings human rights issues to headlines on a global scale. Many Americans think marriage equality is the end-all goal, while millions of LGBT people around the world are still being murdered and imprisoned for being who they are. The more discussions we have about equality the better.  Have you been watching the Olympics? Any sports in particular or people you&amp;#039;re rooting for?  I&amp;#039;m more interested in the Selfie Olympics and if you haven&amp;#039;t seen them, check out my Tumblr. Back to the fundraising on Prizeo: One of the incentives you&amp;#039;re offering is an L.A. date\u2026 What does an IRL date with a YouTube star look like?  I plan on taking the winner and his or her guest to my favorite L.A. hotspot. It&amp;#039;s an incredible opportunity for me to get to know the people who support me most and a chance for us to talk about everything that brought us together. Whether it&amp;#039;s boy bands, YouTube, or a mutual love for everything pop culture\u2014I expect a gossip session of epic proportions. Related: Coca-Cola Ad Features Unexpected LGBT Twist "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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