Although there are many in Second Life, those ‘non-profits’, we don’t talk about them that much, unless they organise a shoe, fashion or hair fair. And because there are so many, it is hard to keep an overview, know them all. And because there are so many, we - the ‘average residents’ hardly do anything more but buy a beautiful new outfit for ‘the good cause’ and feel we’ve done our part. So I was relieved I did not have to write this post, and very much er.. ‘chuckled’ about Tiessa Montgolfier - Mistress Strangelove - having to write this. I wondered where non-profits would take her.. a hilarious post about even more hair - pubic maybe - for her adventures? New shoes? But no, she wrote a good, serious and touching post. With a hell of a ‘challenge’, or ‘call to action’, whatever you may name it, in the end. So by this, Miss Tiessa, I apologise!

My blogpost for this Mix’n Match Game was about ‘Creator vs. Consumer‘ and appeared on Her Royal Princess Ivory’s Blog, whilst the topic suggested by me ‘The evolution of SLex‘ was blogged well by Teagan Blackthorne on Crap Mariner’s blog. ‘Non-profits’ in Second Life was suggested by Rik Riel from Rikomatic. On Tiessa’s blog, Cat Magellan is writing a first hand report on ‘Mixing RL and SL – The dynamics and pitfalls of living and playing in SL with your RL significant other’. And so the circle is round. ;)

Non-profits in Second Life

By Tiessa Montgolfier

Through the mix and match blogger challenge, I received the challenge of writing about non-profits and Second Life for Vint’s blog. A topic I know little about and about which my usual irreverent writing style is probably out of place. I contemplated writing about “The Home For Wayward Subs” or some other imaginary non-profit and making a cutesy, joking blog post, as is usual for me.

However, something compels me to be serious about this because non-profits are almost all designed to help people in some way or another. In my simple, black and white world, helping people is serious business and when this post is seen, I want people to be
educated about the subject, rather than entertained.

So, my own internal challenge is to educate about non-profits in SecondLife, a subject I know nothing about, on Vint’s blog, one of the more highly read SecondLife blogs, and say something profound that will move everyone to be more aware of non-profits in SecondLife. Yeah. No pressure.

Oh, and add in some photos. To Vint’s blog. Let that thought sink in for a moment. Double the pressure. Or triple.

Let’s begin, then, where all good stories begin… with me.

Okay, I couldn’t even do one sentence of serious. But all good articles or stories begin with a problem or a conflict and through the
course, bring the reader to a conclusion or a resolution.

Thus, let’s begin with me…

Because I am the problem.

I know nothing about non-profits in SecondLife and when I was thinking about what to write in this article - an interview, an overview of non-profts, or a whirlwind tour of resources for non-profits. All of those have been done, and done much better than I could ever hope to achieve. Just type “nonprofit second life” into Google and you will have links to everything you ever needed. Knowing one’s limitations is the first step in overcoming them.

Why do I know nearly nothing about non-profits in SecondLife? Have I been living under a rock? I’ve run into the Relay For Life signs and other worthy charities; I’ve even donated to a few in world. In Real Life, I volunteer for many things, donate to many causes, and participate in numerous activities involving charities. Why am I so divorced from that activity in SecondLife?

It goes back to the “education versus entertainment” dichotomy I mentioned earlier, I still see SecondLife as a place for
entertainment, a place to go, to be an alternate me, to have fun, but not a place that is actually a true part of my life. At least not how some people use it.

Let me tell you about a few of the people I’ve met in SecondLife and how they use it. Right next door to my plot of First Land was a very nice person, we talked, we had fun, it was all very neighborly. One evening we talked more about Real Life. I discovered she was in a wheel-chair in Real Life. It was like I hit a brick wall. She told me about walking, dancing, and just being. She was able to do things she was not able to do in Real Life, but even more importantly, she was free to be “normal”. She wasn’t seen as “that girl in a wheelchair.” A person to be helped or pitied; not an “other” at all. I won’t moralize about this, it is sufficient to know that it occurs.

One man I know is a “shut-in” in Real Life, he is nearly unable to travel outside of his home because of his illnesses and their
challenges. However, he plays in Second Life all the time. He too is free to just be himself, forget all of his problems, and have fun in a way he is unable to in Real Life.

Someone else I know is deaf, but in SecondLife, she can socialize completely normally with everyone else because of the chat interface.

There are many more like that, people I’ve met in world that I never knew had Real Life disabilities. Many more in my friend’s list are probably disabled as well and I don’t even know it.

THE WILDE COLLECTIVE ON CRIMES AND INJUSTICES - MORE THAN OUR SHARE
[”Written by all the members of wilde, but namelessly for their protection and greater transparency”]
most of us, if not all of us,
have had things stolen from us, because we were disabled
many of us, if not all of us,
have been slapped or abused physically, and several times
all of us have been verbally abused - a lot!
which hurts by the way!!
we’ve had our money taken from us
perhaps the greatest pain when our dignity has been taken, stolen.
our humanity, feelings, kicked around and abused control.
people take control.
they take control of our things, our decisions.
they force their will and preferences upon us.
no we cant buy that. no we cant eat that.
no we have to watch this. no i dont have time now.
no you cant go anywhere.
no you will be unable to move for awhile.
no…
- Wilde Cunningham, 05/12/2004

That was written by sufferers of cerebral palsy and found in the wonderful post, Second Life Is My WheelChair. I told you others say it much more eloquently than I.

At least one non-profit is dedicated to enable the disabled to enter Second Life.

All change begins with an intent followed by a single, simple action.

The challenge in the title of this blog-post has nothing to do with the challenge of writing this post, it has everything to do with the challenge I am about to give to everyone, not a simple meme where you list a few things people don’t know about you, but a real challenge…

Anyone can donate money, the real challenge is to donate time.

I want to see blog posts about how people volunteered their time to help others.

A very simple challenge and the action doesn’t need to be major, every little bit helps. If all you can do is donate and not provide time, do so, make a difference in someone’s life.

If you are looking for ideas, the picture shows the Path
Of Support on HealthInfo Island, where a large number of non-profit organizations have provided easy links and information about what they do. Talk a walk down it.

Maybe I didn’t educate very much in this blog post, maybe I didn’t entertain you much either, but I did one thing, I spoke from my heart.

Tags: non profits, RL to SL, second life

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