Bungie is frequently asking the Destiny 2 community to spread awareness, raise funds, or celebrate worthy causes, and in turn, the Destiny 2 community embraces those opportunities in ways even Bungie is often surprised by. Bungie charity efforts include organizations like National Preparedness Month, Little Lights, iPads for Kids, and Direct Relief, and that's just in recent months. Now the Destiny 2 community is mounting its own effort, inviting players across all platforms to don gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
A post on Reddit titled "Please work with me to make this man's dream come true" has gone viral within the Destiny 2 community. The Reddit post shared a Facebook post from The Dad Gaming - Dadstiny private group. This original message was from a father who lost his daughter in 2020 to Ewings Sarcoma. The father explained that the September prior to his daughter's passing, he encouraged Destiny 2 players to "Go Gold" for the month. As such, he hoped more Destiny 2 players would join him in this supportive gesture to create a "tower full of gold Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks."
While the father's Facebook post had limited reach, and even the Reddit post may only have reached so many, Twitch streamer AnneMunition saw it and decided to share it with her followers. AnneMunition said on Twitter, "maybe some of my Destiny-playing friends could share this sweet gesture for a dad and his daughter." The Twitter post gathered over twenty-two thousand likes.
AnneMunition's post has now been shared far and wide. It was shared by dmg04, Bungie senior community manager, who also provided a list of gold shaders for Destiny 2 players to use. It was shared by fellow Twitch streamer Gladd, who shared a screenshot of over a dozen friends in his lobby wearing gold and using golden emotes together. Suffice to say, the message is reaching about as broad of a portion of the Destiny 2 community as can be reached online.
While Bungie hasn't officially commented on the effort of the Destiny 2 community, outside of messages of support from employees like dmg04, there's a request for a bigger contribution from the developer. Some players are asking Bungie to offer a free gold shader bundle as it's able. It might be too late to do that, but perhaps Bungie can put it on the schedule for next year.
There is no official donation drive as part of the community event. The father simply asked for Destiny 2 players to be supportive. There may not be an official organization behind Childhood Cancer Awareness, but there are plenty of deserving organizations adjacent to the values of the effort. St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, the Children's Cancer Research Fund, and the Pediatric Cancer Foundation are just a few options to donate to. Otherwise, players can wear gold in Destiny 2 through September and help spread the word.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.