Press Coverage
Liata Social Club - February 2010 Spotlight
http://www.liatasocial.com/page/featured-spotlight-feb-2010
Thanks to LSC for this amazing and way-too-flattering spotlight!
Hope. A strong word and an even stronger feeling. Hope is the driving force behind the woman being spotlighted this month. Please wrap your hearts and your arms around Miss Ronnie Rhode. Ronnie is being spotlighted this month for many reasons, however the main reason is her dedication to making a difference in the lives of those she reaches out to help. She is the founder and proprietor of The Garden of the Missing, a project that helps in finding missing people all over the globe and helping the families of the missing in their grief and quest for resolution. Ronnie first started Second Life in 2007 and was not even sure that she would stay, but she found her calling one night when she was dozing at her computer. A little voice told her to put up posters of missing persons on her land and she woke up immediately knowing that was what she was in SL for. Her garden now has 200 posters of missing persons of all ages and all walks of life. Though there are more that could be posted, she feels that 200 is more than most visitors to her garden can handle at one time as the emotions can be quite overwhelming, even for her.
You can read the rest, and see the video on the LSC website.
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CNN
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-265761
Posted by: Eradicator
Missing Persons: The Search Continues in a Virtual World
Most gardens grow into beautiful things when they are nurtured and well-maintained. Within Second Life (an online virtual reality world, where people can freely create objects and express themselves), a special garden exists where as one visitor recently remarked to the owner, “No offense Ronnie, but I hope your garden stops growing.” Ronnie Rhode manages “The Garden for the Missing,” an area which documents 200 current missing persons.
When I first entered the garden, I noticed Ronnie Rhode at work moving a large “Missing Persons” picture that included relevant information on the individual. “She was found “not safe” today,” remarked Ronnie. “Not safe?” Not hearing the term before, I was confused and taken back. She responded, “Deceased.” The word hit like a ton of bricks, heavy and hard to take.
Ronnie started her time in Second Life (SL) like many residents, “I started this in September 2007. I was new to SL and had bought land because I liked the sunsets. One day I had an idea to put a few missing persons posters up and people who happened by loved it and were very encouraging so I decided to dedicate my land to the cause, one that I cared about.” Over time, Ronnie’s posters grew to the amount it is today. She researched and later partnered with the founder of “Project Jason,” Kelly Jolkowski. This helped establish Project Jason within Second Life, and lead to Ronnie becoming their public relations lead outside of Second Life. Kelly’s son, Jason, has been missing since 2001. The Project Jason website has information about missing persons, spanning both children and adults. Their belief is everyone, no matter of age, race, or gender, deserves attention.
Each of the posters in garden includes case specifics, accounts which are both informative and heartbreaking. “There were just a few cases that I had heard about and my heart just broke for the families. Then when I started this garden, obviously I became more involved, emotionally, and felt this was my calling. My heart really is in this work. It’s such an honor to be able to help the families gain more exposure for their missing loved ones.” She described the pain of the loved ones with missing family members “as living in the not knowing.”
While in the garden, resident Yvette Olivier commented aloud, “This is terribly sad, a parent’s worst nightmare.” She did express all of our hopes, “I think this is a brilliant idea. With all the visitors to SL every day, who knows, perhaps some of these individuals will be found.” We can only wish that Ronnie’s work within SL yields the returns. For the time being though, Ronnie’s work continues. For the deceased who were in the garden, Ronnie moves their posters to another section that houses roughly twenty-five boards. “I just hate when I have to move the posters there. I see their posters daily while they are still missing so I think of them and their families often. When I have to move them, it’s just terribly hard. Harder for the families, of course, and that is where my heart goes. The Garden for the Missing isn’t about me, it’s about them.”
Within Second Life, my character (often referred to as an avatar) spends his time supporting the community through the Justice League Unlimited (JLU) of SL; a group that focuses their energy to provide peacekeeping services, to help to new residents, and to support numerous charities. Our members often adopt personas of superheroes, though we are not a roleplaying group. While in my travels looking to improve guides to for Second Life residents, I met Ronnie, a true hero. Her work within “The Garden of the Missing” and “Project Jason” shows how informative and useful the virtual world can be, as well as highly emotional. We can only hope that through spreading the word, we can make a difference. I know that I will try to do my best and I encourage you to do the same.
To learn more about Project Jason visit: http://projectjason.org
The Garden for the Missing in Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Remora/204/149/21
Project Jason in Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/237/24/26
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SLIllustrated dedicated an entire issue to altruistic and nonprofit work in Second Life, and included lovely articles about The Garden for the Missing, Project Jason and Nonprofit Commons. So lovely, in fact, they’re blushworthy. Thanks to Ariel and Dadaist for the heartfelt attention to our cause.
With the Heart; Find the Person
I’ve always believed that there is goodness in each person whether in Second or First Life. Each of us, stoic or otherwise, feel something. Our conscience teaches us to know what is good and bad, right and wrong, and for the most part it has guided us during our life experience.
I witnessed a person’s goodness and kind heart when I talked to Ronnie Rhode. Ronnie was an average person, just like any of us until one day she woke up and felt that she had to help people grieving over missing loved ones. She started with a small place for posting, but the response was enormous and it grew fast. Read more…
A Virtual Amber Alert - The Seventh Sun
It’s every parents worst nightmare. A mother calls the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to report her 15-year-old daughter missing from Missouri. The mother informs NCMEC that the juvenile may be using an alias and may also be in need of immediate medical attention. Read More…
Garden for the Missing - The Metaverse Journal
The Garden for the Missing is a simple but powerful presence on the mainland Remora sim. Motivated by the tragic end of a missing persons case in her neighbourhood, owner Ronnie Rhode set up her presence. She states she’s been passionate about the missing persons issue since 2002 but only recently joined Second Life. Read More…
