Letter from the Editor

I remember the first time I saw a Feed a Smile donation box. I was wandering SL with Marque Shergood (our copy editor) and we ended up sitting at a coffee shop. There, stretched to fill an entire wall, a sign read “Every 100L$ pays for a warm meal for a child.” How can anyone pass a sign like that and not leave 100 lindens? So I did. Immediately, the reality of that hit me: each time I donated 100L$ – which isn’t even enough to buy hair in SL – I was filling the belly of a child all the way in Nakuru Kenya! The incredible feeling that, with my few lindens, I was actually positively affecting a child’s life across the globe was addictive. So I kept clicking the board.

But then, after I donated a few thousand lindens to this random sign, I began to regret it. I became skeptical and thought “feed kids in Kenya from SL? Yea right.” Annoyed that
I might have been duped, I started to research “Feed a Smile.” What I found is an incredibly effective, vetted and verified charity that really does turn 100 lindens into a meal for a hungry child. I also discovered an ingenious, generous woman and role model named Brique Topaz who realized the opportunities in SL and is changing the world.

Last October, FOCUS had a fundraiser for Feed a Smile. We managed raise about 30k lindens – enough to buy lunch on October 30th for the school’s 400 or so children. Then a few weeks later, Brique sent me a photo of all the kids standing beside a chalkboard with words thanking us for our efforts. I broke down into tears. The feeling was indescribable, and it was such a positive community-building event for our group.

So this year, for our 2nd-annual fundraiser, our goal is 50,000 lindens. Brique said that L$44,500 will feed all of the children for one day and the remainder will go toward fresh fruit. October is a special month to become aware of many health and social issues including World Food Day. And as we know, malnutrition is a root cause of many other issues. So I invite you to enjoy this special awareness issue of FOCUS,
to learn more about this charity, and help us reach our goal!

Please enjoy.