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Relay for Life 2011 in Second Life: Success Plus

August 23, 2011 By

\"\"I don\’t usually just reproduce media releases, but this one\’s definitely worth making an exception for:

Relay For Life of Second Life shatters records in 2011, raises US$375,000 for cancer research

Relay For Life, the signature fundraising event of the American Cancer Society, has once again shattered records in Second Life.

Less than halfway through the 2011 Relay season, the Relay For Life of Second Life had already raised more than one million dollars all-time.

At the Wrap-Up Party on Saturday, August 20, 2011 Event Chair MamaP Beerbaum proudly announced that the seventh Relay For Life of Second Life had set a new season fundraising record of US$375,000, had a record number of 140 teams, and a record number of over 3,000 relayers.

This year’s theme was ‘Seasons of Hope’ and was the largest to date, with a track lined by luminaria winding through 41 sims of amazing builds representing the different seasons. Some 2,140 avatars completed one or more laps, a combined total of 3,486 laps, and visited the campsites and the designer sims. And 4,817 luminaria were lit in support of loved ones going through treatment, and in memory of those heroes who have passed on.

Speaking to committee and team members and volunteers at the Wrap-Up Party, MamaP Beerbaum said: ‘WOW, What a wonderful Relay we had! From Kick-Off in March to Relay Weekend in July, you all worked non-stop, with a passion and commitment that never wavered!

‘As I think back on this season, I am in awe of so many things. We broke so many records. We took the theme ‘Seasons of Hope’ to places we never thought it would go. And we brought it to life on 41 sims creating a breathtaking experience for all who found their way there. And most importantly we proved that we really can work together as One Team!

‘Thank you for giving me the honor of being your chair. Thank you for showing the world that SL is a good place, and that in this Second Life of ours, we CAN make a difference.’

Stingray9798 Raymaker ( in real life Jeff Montegut, the American Cancer Society representative in Second Life) said: ‘It makes me the proudest person in the whole ACS office to represent the coolest people on the planet!’

Spirit of Relay

The ‘Spirit of Relay’ individual award went this year to Daaneth Kivioq. Announcing the award, last year’s winner Ember Farina said: ‘The Individual Spirit of Relay is awarded to the individual that embodies the \’Spirit of the Relay\’ and takes into consideration the \’spirit\’ of the individual, how they embraced Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society Mission, and the enthusiasm displayed.’

This year, just as Relay was kicking into high gear, Daaneth suffered a debilitating stroke. Ember said: ‘His motivation for a fast recovery was actually Relay for Life! He worried so much about his team that he came back in world before he could even read or type; they all used voice to communicate with him to ensure that the team would keep moving forward.’

Nevar Lobo, co-captain of last year’s winner of the ‘Spirit of Relay’ team award, announced this year\’s team winner Team OD, followed by Steelhead Salmons in second place and Team Caledon in third place.

For a complete list of Wrap-Up Awards see: http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/2011/08/final-award-winners.html

For more pictures from the Wrap-Up Party see http://www.flickr.com/photos/ishtarskiss/.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead to 2012 MamaP Beerbaum announced that she would be continuing as Event Chair, supported by this year’s Co-Chair Dwen Dooley and new Co-Chair Nikki Mathieson. Nikki, who has been relaying in Second Life since 2007 and was this year’s Event Day area chair, said: ‘It is a tremendous honor to be invited to be a Co-Chair and I really look forward to the upcoming season.’ Her message to Relayers was ‘Keep relaying all winter… Do that by bringing someone… anyone… even if it\’s just one person who doesn\’t know about us… to ACS Island and let them know we\’re here… in SL. Tell them about our RFL season and get them watching for that kick off in the spring… invite them to it… get them excited and enthused to jump onboard with us.’

The Kick-Off for RFL of SL 2012 will be on March 10, 2012. Next year’s theme will be ‘Time for a Cure’. And the clock is already ticking!

Nearly 400 thousand US dollars is nothing to sneeze at for cancer research. Kudos to the organising team for what\’s become an iconic annual event in Second Life.

[Photo courtesy of Saeriah Thei]

Filed Under: General News, Non-Profit Tagged With: ,

Disability Rights Conference in Second Life

July 21, 2011 By

\"\"Another great event from Virtual Ability Island in Second Life on the way in coming days:

July 16, 2011 – IDRAC2011

International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference- July 23/24, 2011

Virtual World Conference about Real World Rights

Virtual Ability, Inc. announces the International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference (IDRAC2011) to be held Saturday and Sunday, July 23/24, in Second Life®.

In 2006, the United Nations held a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The text of the Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly, and now has over 100 signatory states, including the US and the European Union.

Legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is becoming common around the world. However, the June 9 World Health Organization study, the World Report on Disability, found significant barriers to equal access for persons with disabilities still exist.

This international conference will begin to explore legal protections around the world for persons with disabilities. Featured panels of persons from around the world will discuss local legislation that supports the rights of persons with disabilities. Panelists come from Australia, Belgium, Costa Rica, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK.

Featured presenters include Scott Gill, Simon Walsh, Sister Abeyante, and Roberta Walker Kilkenny.

Gill is Executive Director of Access 2 independence, a Center for Independent Living in Iowa, US; he will talk about the independence movement. Walsh is head of his own consulting firm in the UK; he will compare the US ADA legislation with the UK’s DDA. Abeyante is a Salvatorian Sister; she will discuss advocacy for disability (civil and human) rights. Kilkenny is a college instructor; she will present about the significance of the UN Convention.

Presentations by the National Service Inclusion Project and the Job Accommodation Network will highlight disability services available in the US. Other sessions will feature peer support, comedy, and dance, both as part of the affirmation celebration.

Presentations will take place in Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability Island within Second Life®: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23. The full schedule of confirmed presenters is posted inworld, and at http://virtualability.org/IDRAC2011.aspx.

Alice Krueger, president of Virtual Ability, Inc., stated: “It is a great pleasure to host so many wonderful speakers. Our audience will gain information about the extent of the issues facing people with disabilities, and the potentials for solutions to barriers.”

About Virtual Ability, Inc.

Virtual Ability, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation based in Denver, Colorado, dedicated to enabling people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in on-line virtual worlds like Second Life®.

For more information on Virtual Ability, Inc., including the benefits of virtual reality for people with disabilities, please see www.VirtualAbility.org.

For further information, contact:

Alice Krueger, President
Virtual Ability Inc.
Office: 303/400-3306
akrueger@VirtualAbility.org

Filed Under: General News, Health, Non-Profit Tagged With: , ,

Relay for Life in Second Life: 2011

July 17, 2011 By

\"\"Relay for Life 2011 is in its closing stages as we speak in Second Life. US$343,000 has been raised at time of writing (71 million Linden dollars) and there\’s still plenty to see and do. As always musical entertainment is a focus in addition to the relay itself, and there\’s plenty on offer.

If you haven\’t already, jump in and participate. Even better, add to the donation tally!

All the details you need to get involved are here.

Filed Under: General News, Health, Non-Profit Tagged With:

Virtual worlds and social good: a striking example

March 16, 2011 By

\"\"Over the years of covering the virtual worlds industry, one of the highlights has been seeing grass-roots fundraising efforts. Using my own country of Australia as an example, significant amounts of money have been raised for the 2009 Bushfires and this year\’s series of calamities in Queensland. There\’s already planning under way for events to support those affected by the horrendous events in Japan over the past week and Linden Lab are doing their bit as well.

Add to that ongoing initiatives such as Relay for Life and you have a well-established means of making a difference. All of these examples come from Second Life, but at a wider level some serious initiatives are starting to see the light of day.

One such initiative is being driven by a leader in the social gaming sphere, Zynga. Creators of the (in)famous game Farmville amongst others, Zynga.org is devoted to raising money for worthy causes, using Zynga\’s worlds as the vehicle. It marries two very powerful forces: virtual goods and a desire to help others. Using the current Haiti disaster as an example, 1.5 million dollars was raised and significant amounts are expected for the current tragedy in Japan:

Twelve hours after the earthquake struck, on Friday, March 11th, 8pm pst, Zynga launched in-game initiatives that made donations possible across a number of our most popular games, including: CityVille, FarmVille, Zynga Poker, FrontierVille and Words with Friends. Vampire Wars is now live with a campaign, as well, and YoVille and FishVille will soon launch theirs.

The impetus for doing non-profit work is always multi-faceted. Aside from the obvious aspect of being community-minded, most companies also know the good PR such activities draw. The huge number of social virtual world users is an obvious area where demonstrating good corporate citizenship is increasingly important. Zynga because of its size has drawn some substantial criticism over some aspects of its games / worlds, and initiatives like this help balance the equation a little.

Filed Under: Gaming Worlds, General News, Non-Profit Tagged With: ,

Queensland Flood Relief in Second Life

January 22, 2011 By

\"\"Two years ago, a number of Second Life vendors got together to raise funds for the Victorian Bushfire victims. Thanks to another bunch of dedicated people, coordinated by Brisbane-based Kat Johnston, there are a range of things you can do to raise money for the Queensland Premier\’s Disaster Relief Appeal.

It\’s all under the banner of Extend A Helping Hand (EAHH), and there\’s two large ways to make a difference:

1. Attend some of the great events planned, including a 24-hour concert featuring Australian artists on Australia Day (26th Jan)

2. Go shopping at the EAHH Market, which has an enormous range of items you can buy, with most contributing 100% to the appeal – the lowest ratio was 75% on a handful of items. There\’s some top notch fashion, house items and body shapes for starters – you can view a list of vendors here.

At time of writing nearly 1.2 million Linden Dollars had been raised – around US$4,500, with the bulk of events still to come. So if you can, jump in and check it out for yourself in-world.

If you\’ve got your own fundraising activities organised, post a note about it in comments!

Filed Under: Australian News, Events, General News, Non-Profit Tagged With: ,

Body image study: last chance for participation

May 18, 2010 By

\"\"Back in January we promoted a study being undertaken by Doctorate student Jon-Paul Cacioli on body image in virtual worlds (the study participants need to be aged 18 or over and be male). Click here for the survey link

The response over recent months has been good be Jon-Paul needs a few more people to take part in the survey:

We have introduced an amazon gift voucher of $100 which will be randomly drawn from all participants who entered after data analysis is complete. If individuals have already entered prior to the prize they can email me at jcaci@deakin.edu.au and I will add them to the draw.

Thanks for your help

So why not jump in and assist in developing the body of knowledge in an area we all know fairly well – the results could be interesting to say the least.

Filed Under: Australian News, Education, Non-Profit Tagged With: ,

Copenhagen, climate change and Second Life

November 24, 2009 By

\"copenhagen1-sml\"Unless you\’ve avoided all news over the past year or so, you\’ll have heard about the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, which starts on the 7th December and runs through to the 18th December.

OneClimate, auspiced by Non-profit organisation OneCLimate, has created Virtual Copenhagen a large exhibition space in Second Life. Aside from the numerous exhibitions (some are listed below), the presence will be streaming content from Copenhagen plenary sessions, press conferences and \”voices from the global south that might not otherwise be heard\”. Aside from the streaming aspect, those attending in Second Life will have the opportunity to put questions to people being interviewed by the broadcasters in Copenhagen.

I spent half an hour walking around the exhibits and there\’s certainly plenty of interesting information to be digested. There are some exhibition spaces remaining (contact Coughdrop Littlething in-world if you\’re interested). For more details on the Second Life activities, teleport there yourself or check the OneClimate website.

\"copenhagen2\"

Exhibitor listing

All but the last two listed below will have staff representatives in-world:

Beta Business Park, HeatSaver Energy Systems Inc, SmarterEarth (working in with the University of Iowa), Commonwealth Islands, NOAA, Virtual Native Lands, V-Innovate, European Metaverse Association, Public Policy Virginia, L’Ultimatum Climatique, Better World – Center for Water Studies, Human Mosaic Systems, The Institute for Sustainable Communication, Four Bridges, Peace Train, Etopia, ViO, State of the World Forum and The Transition Network.

Once the real-workd discussions fire up in December, it\’ll be interesting to see what impact the Second Life aspect will play. Virtual Copenhagen is certainly well resourced and organised: whether it can cut through the enormous level of activity that\’ll be occurring remains to be seen, but OneClimate certainly won\’t die wondering with their efforts.

Check it out in-world

Filed Under: General News, Non-Profit Tagged With: ,
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