Relay For Life of Second Life

What is Relay For Life?

• Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society's signature activity.
• It offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of people from all walks of life have fun while raising much-needed funds to fight cancer and raising awareness of cancer prevention and treatment.
• Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path.
• Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event.
• Relays are an overnight event, up to 24 hours in length.

What is Relay For Life of Second Life?

• Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL) is an annual activity that takes place in Second Life in July each year.
• Volunteers form or join teams to have fun while fundraising and raising awareness from mid-March through mid-July.
• In July teams build campsites and walk a track, just like in a Real World Relay.
• In 2009, Relay for Life of Second Life raised over a quarter of a million dollars for the American Cancer Society.
• Relay For Life has become an international movement in RL and in SL. In 2009 participants from over 30 countries took part in Relay For Life of Second Life.

Planning Committee 2009-2010

• Event Chair: Tayzia Abattoir
• Event co-chairs: Nuala Maracas and MamaP Beerbaum
• American Cancer Society representative in Second Life: Stingray9798 Raymaker
• Other positions to be announced

Timetable 2009-2010

• To be announced

Off-season/year-round fundraising guidelines

• The RFL of SL committee recommends that volunteers take a break from Relay For Life from August to February. This is to avoid donor fatigue and give everyone a much-needed break to spend time with their SL and RL families, so that they are all well-rested and ready to devote their time and passion once again from March onwards.
• Just because volunteers are resting does not mean that they have to cease all activity. Many teams plan year-round and have events on the kick-off day.
• This year, as years past, the committee continues to get requests for off-season fundraising kiosks and vendors. This has caused the committee to re-examine its guidelines and tweak them to support those that do not wish to cease fundraising efforts during the downtime.
• People who request off-season kiosks and vendors will be obliged, on the understanding that they may not advertise events as 'Relay For Life of Second Life' events.
• They also CAN NOT use the volunteer group or any RFL groups to advertise events and/or vendors, as the committee feels that the community needs a break.
• They may, however, advertise in other ways (SL events calendar or other media) that they are doing an event to support the American Cancer Society or with proceeds going from their sales (in official vendors) to the American Cancer Society.
• Vendors/kiosks will have a script in them to make them vanish on March 13, 2010 so that they will not be confused with the regular season fundraising kiosks.
• Those people requesting year-round/off-season vendors/kiosks need to be made aware of this stipulation and will need to either join/have a team for regular season ones, or request new general donation kiosk/vendor(s) after March the 13th, 2010.
• To receive an off-season kiosk/vendor with set up instructions, people should contact: Jaelle Akulla (RFL of SL Off-Season/Non-Team Chair) or Seaway Brodsky (RFL of SL Off-Season/Non-Team Co-Chair).

Articles

• 'Why Walk? Virtual Walkathon Helps Raise Money For Cancer Research' by Stephen Totilo, MTV News, July 20, 2006
• 'Second Life Fundraising: Philanthropy Dips Its Toe Into Virtual Worlds' by Tom Watson, July 26, 2006
• 'Team Guardians Relay for Life Success!' by Aleks Krotoski, The Guardian Games Blog, July 30, 2007
• 'Relay for Life Second Life', by Penguin Kuhn, Non Profits in Second Life (NPSL) blog, August 3, 2008
• American Cancer Society Relay For Life Of Second Life Marks Milestone Year In Virtual World, Medical News Today, July 9, 2009

Videos

• 'Relay for Life Charity Video: Believe in the Dream', by waelyatenk, July 19, 2009

Links

• http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/
• http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/secondlife

Pictures from past Relays

• volunteer pictures on Flickr
• RFL of SL 2009 pictures by IshtarAngel Micheline

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