# Macmillan take World's Biggest Coffee Morning to Second Life

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2007/09/25/macmillan-take-world039s-biggest-coffee-morning-second-life/
- Published: 2007-09-25T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Macmillan Cancer Support has woken up and smelled the coffee, albeit of the virtual
kind. The charity’s “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning” fundraising event will later
this month be held in Second Life for the first time.**

The event in Second Life on 28 September will involve more than just serving virtual
coffee all day to visitors. Second Life developer New Business Horizons has persuaded
designers from across Second Life to donate items to charity to raise money in a“
World’s Biggest Coffee Morning auction”.

To promote the event giant coffee cups have been placed at strategic locations all
over SL to attract donors: when a donation is made, the donor takes a giant spoon,
stirs the cup and wins a free virtual t-shirt together with one of the designers’
randomly selected gifts, which itself will have a value of up to several thousand
Linden dollars, the currency of Second Life.

## Advertisement

The event will be the first to take place in the new Second Life Macmillan cancer
information centre. This was created for Macmillan in Second Life’s ‘Blue Horizon’
business park as a joint venture between New Business Horizons (NBH) and media producer
Phoenix Film & Television.

The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is one of the largest fundraising events in the
UK. Last year nearly two million people hosted or attended coffee events across 
the UK and raised over £6.7 million to help people affected by cancer.

Once the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is over, Macmillan will continue to offer
the fully functioning Macmillan cancer information centre. Here, users affected 
by cancer will be able to make use of resources such as a range of information about
cancer and emotional support. Alongside the services, visitors will also be able
to go shopping at the retail area, where they can buy real world Macmillan merchandise
and gifts from the online catalogue.

Alan Haymes, whose avatar in Second Life is “Doctor Hickman”, of NBH explained: “
When Macmillan came to us for its cancer information centre, we could see the need
immediately for something that wasn’t just a presence but was there for practical,
down to earth reasons. For example, many people affected by cancer do not know where
to go to find all the information they need on financial and emotional matters; 
in Second Life they can benefit hugely from the anonymity of an avatar, an adopted
persona, when visiting the centre.

Wendy W. Fowler, innovations manager for Macmillan, added: “We had been considering
our involvement with Second Life in a bid to engage and support even more people
affected by cancer. New Business Horizons has really cracked it by creating an original
presence for us in Second Life which will provide both services for people affected
by cancer, as well as a fundraising mechanism for Macmillan.”

 * **[iPhone app supports Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/09/24/iphone-app-supports-macmillan039s-world039s-biggest-coffee-morning/)(
   24 September 2010)**

 * **[AI-managed advertising to drive sign-ups for World’s Biggest Coffee Morning](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/09/10/ai-managed-advertising-to-drive-sign-ups-for-worlds-biggest-coffee-morning/)(
   10 September 2019)**