YouTube creator Brian Lewis has raised over half a million dollars for Trans Lifeline, a critical crisis hotline. Also known as ‘The Professor’, Lewis hosts Tolarian Community College, YouTube’s largest Magic: The Gathering channel with one million subscribers.

Throughout his career, he has faithfully advocated for LGBTQ+ rights, using his platform to give voice to the needs of the community. He has run annual fundraisers for Trans Lifeline since 2020, with his first event raising an impressive amount of  $121,000. However, this year’s campaign has set a new milestone, reaching the half-million-dollar mark for the trans hotline.

We got there! Together, we raised over $564,000 for
@translifeline.bsky.social. 🏳️‍⚧️

Trans rights are human rights and all are deserving of equality and love.

To everyone who was a part of this, from myself,
@goberthicks.bsky.social, and all of us here at Tolarian Community College: THANK YOU. 💙💜🤍

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— Tolarian Community College (@tolariancommunitycollege.com) 15 de febrero de 2025, 19:12

We got there! Together, we raised over $564,000 for @translifeline.bsky.social. 🏳️‍⚧️Trans rights are human rights and all are deserving of equality and love.To everyone who was a part of this, from myself, @goberthicks.bsky.social, and all of us here at Tolarian Community College: THANK YOU. 💙💜🤍

— Tolarian Community College (@tolariancommunitycollege.com) 2025-02-15T19:11:59.836Z

For each increment of $4 donated to the campaign, participants had a chance to win a variety of prizes, ranging from cards, art prints and accessories donated by other content creators within the Magic: The Gathering community on YouTube, including Josh Lee Kwai of The Command Zone, Lua Stardust and SaffronOlive. 

Lewis also added 10 of his ‘Masters’ sets to the giveaway, some of his most expensive products. 

The fundraiser has come at a critical time of need for Trans Lifeline. While the organisation’s core crisis hotline continues to operate, it was forced to downsize and pause its microgrant program in late 2023 due to a lack of funding.

“It’s overwhelming to see the community support. It makes me so proud of Magic: The Gathering players to see them rallying behind the trans community like this,” Lewis told Them.

“Right now I see trans people around me, my friends, my family, my co-workers, being told that they don’t exist…We need to show trans people that they are not alone. I want them to know that, even though it may not always feel this way, they are loved, and that we are so grateful to have them in our lives,” he continued. 

This ongoing effort continues to stand as a pillar of support for queer and trans rights and brings trans-gaming culture into the mainstream. The game itself has expanded over time to include trans characters and stories, reflecting the diversity of the community.