World-famous gaming personality, "Athene," just raised $6.5 million to feed starving children.

CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Athene took-in a record $2 million in a 24-hour period through individual donations from his fans around the world over the past weekend.

Through his Gaming for Good crowd-funding initiative, 100 percent of the raised proceeds will go to Save the Children foundation.

Athene began using his celebrity last year to raise funds used to feed children in Africa, documenting his visit to Mali with Save the Children here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1FGbEPYH5s.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I expect my fans and the gaming community to contribute like they have," said Athene. "This shatters the stereotype of the kid gaming in a dark basement, showing instead the incredible global community that gamers exist in. This proves that the individual contributions of many can change the world, no matter their background or location."

According to Reuters, the video game industry is the most lucrative segment of the entertainment sector, surpassing both the motion picture and music industry. The number one YouTube channel is gamer PewDiePie with 13 million subscribers. Smosh, another gamer, is in second with 12 million subscribers. The top musician, by comparison, is Rihanna with 9 million subscribers ranking at number 10.

Athene is available for media interviews. Raw video from the Mali visit and live streams of the fundraiser are also available.

You can check out more videos of Athene on the links below:

ShareCraft hits $1 million, DreamHack 2012: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.8157995/

Athene in Africa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM8tevoEPf4&list=PLgWzsPQLwtK8fMFRJueOMFtKaFuPGpSZ9&index=12

SOURCE Athene