Shirtless for Breast Cancer

One of the great things about Second Life, at least for me, is the tremendous number of wonderful people I get to meet from all across the grid. I am particularly fortunate that my work with Prim Perfect and The Primgraph have not only led me to some of the most interesting places in the metaverse, but to also meet so many people in their element. Many whom I am proud to call friends.

This is particularly true in the various steampunk, Victorian and historical locales where I have found the most incredible places with a real sense of community.

As a result, I was proud to participate in last year's Shirtless for Breast Cancer fundraising project initiated by the Consulate of Europa Wulfenbach. I was tasked with designing a Thinc book featuring breast cancer awareness information, along with topless photographs of avatars in support of the non-profit organization breastcancer.org. The book, along with a male and female calendars raised over $22,000L for this organization.

Breastcancer.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the most reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer. All medical information on the organization's web site and in their printed materials is carefully reviewed by a Professional Advisory Board consisting of over 60 practicing medical professionals from around the world.

October is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the US, and this year it is celebrating its 25th anniversary. A new set of calendars and book are now in the planning stages. A call for volunteers has been sent and I am so pleased that my good friends in Avalon jumped to the call when I advised them of the project. They have gotten right into the spirit and submitted tastefully topless photographs of their avatars to the project.

Both male and female volunteers are needed, so why not take this opportunity to get creative and support a great cause! I invite you to contact Frau Annechen Lowey in-world if you have any questions. Below is the call for volunteers as distributed by the Consulate. I encourage you to capture an image that defines what means the most to you in real life and in Second Life...my shot is above. If you require assistance with capturing your image, please do not hesitate to contact me.

The shots not selected for the calendars will be included in the 2010 book, and your inclusion in either depends on the submission fitting the technical requirements:

1) Submissions should be 2048 x 2048 square FULL PERMISSIONS PNGs. These may be e-mailed to consulate.lackey@gmail.com

2) Please keep the composition TASTEFUL - Art, not smut, please.

3) No Minors. Diminutive adults, fine - but we wish to stay legal with this. Legal-age avatars only for values of the American legal system (18 years old or older), no exceptions, not even for time travellers.

4) Submissions are to be sent to Annechen Lowey BEFORE 1800 SLT on 1 September 2009.

LATE Submissions will not be considered.