American Cancer Society

American Heart Association
The AMA is especially dear to me. Having lost my father two years ago to a heart attack, I support the actions of the AMA, increasing awareness and encouraging healthy lifestyles. ~Renochan

Child’s Play
Child’s Play is a charity initiative which raises money for video games to be sent to over 60 partner children’s hospitals world wide. While the main donation drive starts in November, donations are taken all year long. In addition to cash donations, you can also purchase straight from the various wish lists posted by the hospitals on Amazon.

Children’s Wish Foundation
The Children’s Wish Foundation helps children under 18 years old who are suffering from a life-threatening illness fulfill their wish. They also offer assistance for families going through these situations and education in hospitals.

Endometriosis Foundation of America
I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 14 years old. I have undergone surgery and been on various medications to help with the pain associated with the illness. Most females with endometriosis do not know until they are in their mid to late 20s. Donations to the EFA will help with medical research and spreading awareness. ~Yukino

Extra Life
Extra Life is a 24 hour gaming for charity event. All funds raised go to the Texas Children’s Hospital for pediatric cancer research and treatments. The GamingAngels team will be back for the next event in October 2010.

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
The LLS is dedicated to blood cancer research, education and patient services. Their goal is to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the lives of the families affected.

Susan G Komen for the Cure
Breast cancer affects millions of women around the globe. While October is breast cancer awareness month, it is a cause worth donating to all year round as doctors search for a cure to the deadly disease.

A Guest Article by Joylia

Sometimes all we want to do is escape into a world that allows us to be who we want to be, dress how we like without reservation, and live without any limitations, including gravity. That very world that we wish to dwell in can differ just on a whim in regards to our mood and what we are looking to get into that exact moment. Perhaps as we wake for the day we may decide that we want to just hang out with friends, talk, shop, or spend a day on a beautiful beach even if we are hundreds of miles away from our friends or the warm ocean breeze. Or maybe we choose to enter a post-apocalyptic realm as we load our guns, sheath our swords and set out with a select few to assert just who truly rules the ruins and waste of land left from some war riddled back story.

Welcome to Second Life. Created six years ago June 23rd by Linden Labs, Second Life is a virtual world that allows you to create and customize avatars and objects in immense detail that no other game has been able to compare with. It is completely player driven and the world itself is HUGE and ever growing. Broken up into parcels called islands, or sims, the land is bought and owned and the purpose is up to the imagination of the land owner. On these very islands exists shopping malls, learning and education centers, spots set up as homage to for a variety of reasons, and even player created role-playing areas of every nature, genre, and type. Aside from this, Second Life has allowed people’s creativity to truly come to life. People have created amazing works of art, music, buildings, creatures, clothes and jewelry. Whatever you can imagine made, people have done or are doing.

This has become such a world-wide phenomenon that you can find people from every country, from every background, and from a wide age range entering this world and playing. In-world translators are constantly being worked on and updated in order to better help people who do not speak the same language, communicate with each other. This virtual world works on integrating people so that no one is left out. I believe that it does this so well because the people who work on creating tools, such as the translators, are the players themselves. Coming together has never been so easy.

And coming together has never been as life impacting. Second Life has given the gift of gathering and helping to many causes. Since 2005, the American Cancer Society has been able to successfully raise funds in Second Life for their Relay for Life®. On July 18, 2009, both Second Life and ACS hope to raise even more funds this year. Many events are being hosted, so it is something to definitely check out! So whether you are looking for new friends or experiences, come explore the possibilities. Come explore your Second Life.