Trainers have been making an impact on their local communities through Pokémon GO.
All over the world, Pokémon GO Community Ambassadors and their communities supported local charities during Mankey Community Day. The programme, which sees local leaders run their own local Pokémon GO communities, encouraged meet-ups to donate food items to be given to local charities and food banks.
Niantic supported the effort, and are donating $1000 to a handful of charities that Community Ambassadors chose to support.
esports.gg headed to a local Community Ambassador meetup and spoke to Derby, UK's own Community Ambassador Brett Thorn about their efforts to support good causes through Pokémon GO.
What is the Pokémon GO Community Ambassador Programme?
The Pokémon GO Community Ambassador Program "supports local, in-person Pokémon GO communities around the globe by empowering their experiences. Community Ambassadors can receive special perks for their communities, like item codes and swag for giveaways, access to Niantic representatives for special feedback sessions, and other opportunities to support their community’s growth." Niantic launched this initiative back in July 2022.
There is a strenuous application process. Potential ambassadors are vetted, have to submit details and proof of their events and are subject to a background check. Communities need at least 10 Trainers.
However, once a group is established it can greatly improve the experience for the local area. There are rewards in game, including the new Community event medal and Timed Research.
Derby, Brett explained, now has over 100 people attending events and over 1,500 members signed up on Campfire. Just a year ago, there was no real Pokémon GO community in the city at all. For a city with a population of less than 300,000 - that isn't bad going.
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Pokémon GO Community supports local charities
Coinciding with this weekends Mankey Community Day Community Ambassadors worldwide encouraged their community to bring along donations for local charities. As a result, Pokémon GO Trainers are having a direct impact on their community.
In Derby, Trainers amassed an impressive haul of donations that went to a local homelessness charity, Doorways. esports.gg spoke to Community Ambassador Brett Thorn about the impact Pokémon GO is having on his local area.
"Becoming an Ambassador established community was not something I set out to achieve back when I first had the idea of creating a group.
"I'd go out into the town centre on in-game event days and see Trainers playing the game but not collectively. This then gave me the idea for the PokémonGo Derby+ Community, seeing the amount of active trainers then prompted me to get us on the Ambassador programme.
"The impacts the programme has had is hard to put into words. The Group has brought everyone together into one place, getting people out socializing, helping members with their mental health, getting people together that all have a common interest. The programme itself is an added bonus!"
"Be somebody that makes everybody feel like a somebody"
Brett chose to support Doorways Derby due to the work they do in the city that his community is based. The charity supports a food bank and has a weekly 'street kitchen' in the city centre. Their motto is "Be somebody that makes everybody feel like a somebody" and Brett says that is "exactly what we want our community to be."
Encouraged by Niantic's global push to hold a food drive alongside a Community Day meet-up, Brett was blown away by the support shown by his fellow Trainers.
"The amount of donation was unbelievable. Members didn't just bring 1 item, they were coming with bags full of stuff. The difference we may have made today is hard to say but it has now given us an opportunity to continue this kind of work within the wider community.
"The more we do this the greater impact I believe we will have. The Pokémon GO Derby Community is still young, set up 7 months ago. This is our first step in making something more than just a gaming community. The acts of kindness from our members will now have a impact on the local community rather than just the trainers who play the game."
You can find your nearest Pokémon GO Community Ambassador Community here. Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest esports news and more Pokémon GO updates.
