Bethel Park Resident Raises $1 Million For AbleGamers Charity

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Meet Steve Spohn. The Bethel Park resident was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a terminal illness when he was barely one year old.

Now, Steve's mission is to combat social isolation and improve quality of life for people like him through video games.

"In the pandemic, we learned one thing. We can all be pretty isolated pretty quickly for people with disabilities. Often, the reality, 24/7, every year, pandemic or not, video games can help bridge that gap between your desire to be with your others and your ability to do so physically," Spohn said.

Last year, Spohn started thinking about what he wanted to do for his 40th birthday. Then it hit him -- raise $1 million for AbleGamers.

His charity supports people with disabilities who want to play video games for rehabilitation.

This week, it happened. The money will be invested back into AbleGamers, allowing it to stock up on valuable resources and spread the joy of gaming to people with disabilities looking to connect with other people.