Yesterday I had the privilege of being asked to help judge the campsites nominated for the Cancer Awareness Award. Sixteen campsites were nominated. Here in no particular order are my own PERSONAL favorites. The official outcome will depend on the combined tally of all the judges' scores, of course.
Thanks to APinkSwan Beauchamp for inviting me to judge these. I might otherwise have missed these great campsites!
RFL Harmony of Hope
My first stop was at Harmony of Hope which is fittingly in the RFL Support sim. A child's Snow Globe invites us into a world of innocent winter and leads us on a dark journey through one person's struggle against a terrifying disease. There I met TS Darrow who guided me to the tour of The Longest Winter. I rode a snowflake, listening to the moving story of one person's battle against cancer. To find victory at last. And a message to remind people about the support services offered by the American Cancer Society in Second Life. I'm not ashamed to say that this build moved me to tears, so much so, that I went back and revisited it today, with fellow survivor Josh1 Hawker.
The Snowglobe at night
Inside the globe, the snowflake tour took me on a journey through diagnosis and treatment of cancer, from the darkest winter to the radiance of the rainbow at the journey end
Making snow angels after coming out into the light
You are not alone - this display is about the importance of support and links to the American Cancer Society island in Second Life
(If you visit this build please remember to turn your sound on.)
BOSL Relay Team
Next I visited the BOSL Relay Team's campsite, where earlier in the day I had watched Frolic Mills, BOSL magazine proprietor, building a display about International Relay against a breathtaking backdrop of rising flamingos.
Watching Frolic putting the finishing touches to the international build, along with Kayleigh McMillan who is the Co-Chair for International Relations
The rising flamingos at the BOSL campsite, with in the foreground, the display of international relay information
This is one theme that is dear to my heart as I live in England (well, half of the time) and will be taking part in my local Relay For Life, organized by Cancer Research UK - one of the partner organizations of the American Cancer Society - in two weeks. The build reminds us that Relay For Life is licenced to 20 organizations outside the United States, and that part of the proceeds from Relay For Life go to support international activities.
The BOSL campsite also displayed the foreign language kiosks built by the International Relations committee and 'ambassadors'
Relay Rockers
The Relay Rockers have come up trumps with a charming neighbourhood where you can trick-or-treat at each door and receive a notecard with an American Cancer Society mission information statement, and a gift. Just step on the Welcome mat ...
The Relay Rockers trick-or-treat neighbourhood in RFL Screening
This hobo bicycle is just one of the charming trick-or-treat gifts I was given when I toured the neighbourhood. The Welcome mat gave me a message about the ACS Road to Recovery program with a url and phone number.
If you go further on into the campsite you'll find a memorial grove, where you can light a candle to a loved one, and a spooky haunted house filled with ghosts, all with something to say. If you dare go into the house you may be lucky and find a surprise on the top floor. I found the house itself tricky to navigate but the build itself is suitably spooky. (That reminds me, I must go back and find that elusive surprise.) *[Added 7/18 I went back and found my surprise box! Thank you!]
The Relay Rockers haunted house
The mission information on this campsite has been meticulously put together and there are plenty of references to the American Cancer Society website and activities. Proficiat!
New Babbage RFL
The notecard for the New Babbage Hope Factory reads: 'It has come to New Babbage's attention that the most important ingredient for those successfully battling cancer is Hope. Therefore, in true New Babbage fashion, we need to manufacture it. A LOT of it. And since the highest quality hope comes from adversity, we have decided to establish our workshop in the most inhospitable location we could find: the Land of Permanent Winter. Because Cancer Never Sleeps Our New Babbage Hope Factory Never
Stops.'
The build centers around a long assembly line which is shielded from the elements with a glass-and-metal greenhouse, with power and heat and living accomodations for the workers. Each stage is dominated by a machine that improves the product as it moves along the line.
So what does Hope look like? Visit the build and find out, and meet the Merryman Union Workers (named after former community member Greg Merryman who the team lost last year at the start of Relay).
Inspired Dreamwalkers
The first thing you see as you enter the Inspired Dreamwalkers campsite is this cheeky bear running around.
The campsite illustrates the Seasons of Life.It is divided into the four seasons, each of which also represents the seasons of our lives.
In each section there is a book, mentioning the common cancers during that phase of life and how they can, sometimes, be prevented. Clicking on each book gives out a notecard with more information.
I wish I had the time to write about more of the builds. Here are the others that I visited and which ALL do credit to their teams and builders: Dream to Live; NY Healthscape; Ravenwood Animal Ranch; Team London; Eternal Beacon; Steelhead Salmons; Roma Pro Vita; Sail For Life; Purple Tears; Lanterns For Life; and Radicals For Life.
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