Join millions in standing against poverty TODAY at 10AM PST

Today at 10AM PST (1PM EST) there will be a "Stand Up Against Poverty" event in Second Life sponsored by the UN Millennium Campaign. If you don’t make it, it will repeat at 6:30PM PST / 9:30PM EST.  Both events will take place at the Plush Nonprofit Commons sim (teleport SLURL.) Here’s the official description:

Millions around the world will participate in STAND UP, a global
initiative launched by the United Nations Millennium Campaign to set an
official Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people to
physically and symbolically STAND UP Against Poverty and for the
Millennium Development Goals. STAND UP events will occur across the
world, from MTV concert in Rome , to a group of impoverished rural
women in Nepal who will stand up together in solidarity. Joining the
hundreds of global events will be a cast of robots, fairies and animals
from the virtual world of Second Life.

The complete announcement follows after the jump.  Contact Fight Hunchke for information.

A STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY event will be hosted today 17th of October by Fight Hunchke at the Plush Nonprofit Commons (SLurl http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/4/229/26/)

Time: 10 AM SL time (1 PM NY time /7 PM Central European time)
            and
            6.30 PM SL time (9.30 PM NY time / 3.30 AM Central European time)

Contact person: Fight Hunchke

Please stop by and get a free wristband and T-shirt and and show your support for the UN Millennium Development Goals and against poverty.

PRESS RELEASE:

REAL AND VIRTUAL WORLD UNITE TO STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY ON OCTOBER 16/17

New York , October 15, 2007 – Millions around the world will participate in STAND UP, a global initiative launched by the United Nations Millennium Campaign to set an official Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people to physically and symbolically STAND UP Against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals. STAND UP events will occur across the world, from MTV concert in Rome , to a group of impoverished rural women in Nepal who will stand up together in solidarity. Joining the hundreds of global events will be a cast of robots, fairies and animals from the virtual world of Second Life.

Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is a virtual 3-D world inhabited by over 900,000 residents and supports millions of U.S. dollars in monthly transactions. Residents of Second Life who take part in the STAND UP challenge will be equally counted towards the Guinness World Record. There is already massive support building in the Second Life community. With the help of well known Second Life residents Fight Hunchke and DrChaos Torok, STAND UP Kiosks have been placed throughout the world offering residents a free White Band, the international symbol for the eradication of poverty and information on how to take part in the World Record Attempt.

"Second Life offers a unique venue for the Campaign to reach out to a young and active audience," said Amil Husain, Global Youth Coordinator for the UN Millennium Campaign. "We’re very excited about the virtual SUGARCULT concert and having the residents of Second Life join the global campaign to set a Guinness World Record."

The “STAND UP” challenge, an initiative of the United Nations Millennium Campaign, seeks to raise awareness about global poverty and the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight specific goals that commit rich and poor countries to work together to eradicate extreme poverty by 2015. Through this action organizers seek to demonstrate to policy makers the growing global support for the achievement of these Goals and for the strengthening of development policies in both rich and poor countries.

STAND UP will take place between 10.00am (GMT) 16 October and end at 10.00am (GMT) 17 October. During this time the Millennium Campaign will join forces with a wide range of partners across the world including GCAP, the ONE campaign, trade unions, faith based groups, local governments, youth groups, Parliamentarians, sporting associations, media and other key partners to mobilize thousands of people to take a stand, showing solidarity for ending poverty by 2015.