Pontiac's Motorati Island is getting a second life by making a very
generous donation of the very successful seven-region car culture
island in Second Life to United Spinal Association. The newly named
Motorabilty Island aims to continue catering to the car culture
community in Second Life with a twist, by providing an opportunity to
empower the 10,000 United Spinal Association members to join Second
Life and experience car culture events and activities in this very
popular virtual world.
New
and experienced Second Life residents will enjoy car culture related
virtual events, activities, community building, educational seminars
and pure racing fun on the many original venues and race tracks
re-opening in early February. Event proceeds, sales of goods, and
services from commercial enterprise and sponsorships will contribute to
raise awareness and provide funding to support United Spinal
Association programs in the virtual and real world. Visit us in Second
Life here SLURL to location.
Major
sponsor and coordinating efforts by the car culture community on United
Spinal's Motorability Island is Jody DeVere (aka Patty Streeter in
Second Life) AskPatty's very own president and member of the board of
directors for United Spinal Association. DeVere's son Joseph was
involved in a tragic car accident in 2005 which resulted in paraplegia.
This event created a big passion in her to help provide non-traditional
recreational and quality of life programs for disabled Americans.
"I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been a participant in
Pontiac's Motorati Island car culture community development in Second
Life during 2007, what an awesome roller coaster learning curve
experience. I want to thank Pontiac, Campfire, Leo Burnett and
Electric Sheep Company for their tremendous support of all my
activities related to United Spinal and AskPatty.com in Second Life ,"
stated DeVere. "On behalf of United Spinal Association's board of
directors and its 10,000 members we are truly grateful to Pontiac and
General Motors for the generosity of this wonderful gift of virtual car
culture recreation and will continue to build on the foundation you so
generously give for use by future Second Life residents to enjoy."
DeVere
held several successful fund raising race events for United Spinal in
Second Life on Pontiac's Motorati Island with the help and support of
Pontiac and Motorati Island land owners in 2007 and plans to ramp up
Motorability Island activities quickly in 2008. DeVere chairs the real
life Motorsports Program for UnitedSpinal.org,
providing opportunities for persons who drive with hand controls to
participate in solo racing clinics during SCCA, ASA and NASA racing
events around the county.
The newly named Motorability Island will continue to be home for many
of the original attractions, racing and car culture themed events that
made Pontiac's Motorati Island so popular with Second Life residents.
The island will re-open with SLASCAR Fairgrounds Speedway, Dirt Track
Racing, Drift Racing, AskPatty.com, Wonderland Cardin - A Female
Friendly Certified Car Dealership, Parkade Night Club, Callie Cline's
Beach Resort, Underground Resistance cruise night and street racing, an
Off Road Monster Truck Course, and a few new builds that are sure to
keep Second Life residents coming back. Visit us in Second Life here
SLURL to location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/unitedspinal/135/17/27/
United
Spinal's web presence off Second Life will be supported at the
UnitedSpinal.org Second Life portal page in the works which will
provide an open window into United Spinal's Second Life efforts as they
offer the Second Life experience to their over 40,000 members.
Beginning in March, the general public and United Spinal members will
be able to join the unique virtual community via the UnitedSpinal.org
website, which will link directly to Motorability Island in Second
Life. The Motorabilty Island steering committee comprised of Patty
Streeter, Amanda Shinji, Osprey Therian, Suku Ming and Toby Rainbow are
already planning a big grand opening event to open the web portal to
new residents and cut the virtual ribbon on the new United Spinal
Motorability Island Welcome Center in April 2008. Visit the website at:
http://www.motorability.com. AskPatty will also begin hosting "Caffeine and Cars" on Wednesday afternoons again, so stop by our venue for a visit.
Staying
true to the spirit of Second Life, which empowers members to build the
community, United Spinal Association is providing parcels of land
around Motorbility Island to Second Life entrepreneurs and artists who
wish to create their own projects devoted to car culture. United Spinal
will review user's proposed projects and lease land parcels accordingly
on which users can go forth and develop their own ideas, as they
relate, contribute and benefit the Motorability community.
The
growing popularity of Second Life, created by Linden Lab, presents a
unique recreational, educational, marketing and fund raising
opportunities for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations like
UnitedSpinal.org. It's owned and developed by the more than 11 million
users that inhabit it, and has a real economy, real social dynamics,
and the feeling of reality for its residents. The residents of Second
Life own virtual land and participate in an online economy. Users pay
for items through the use of Linden dollars, the true currency of
Second Life, which can be accrued in various ways, including the use of
actual credit cards - which generates approximately $7.6 million a
month USD at Second Life.