Gaia Online community to help Gulf clean-up efforts with virtual fundraiser

Although the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been capped, the active online social community at Gaia Online has launched a Gulf Clean-Up Fundraiser from now (July 21, 2010) until July 26, 2010. This is much like its earlier charitable fundraisers such as the Red Cross Haiti Relief fundraiser, in which Gaia Online donated $10,000.

During the Gulf Clean-Up Fundraisers, players can purchase a “Toxic Blob” to clean for $499 Gaia Cash. Gaia cash can be purchased using PayPal, a cash card purchased from Wal-Mart, 7-11, Target, or by completing free offers online. Once purchased, players can choose to clean the “Toxic Blob” to reveal a sea creature that can accompany a player’s avatar. These include creatures such as Gerard the Otter, Merle the Pelican, Kameha the Sea Turtle, and Puffy the Fish, to name a few.

I asked Derek Liu, co-founder of Gaia Online, about this fundraiser. He replied that this event is not only rewarding to the Gaian community, but for the artists who create these virtual items each month as well.

“Our artists create new virtual items each month, which are usually fantasy or luxury-themed. This time around, a few of our artists wanted to do something more relevant and meaningful. They chose to donate a portion of the profits from specific items toward helping the Gulf clean-up efforts,” Liu said. “At Gaia, we give our artists as much freedom as possible to be creative and weave the passions of our users together with their own interests, so they can bring continue to bring inspired work to the Gaia community.”

The event has also spurred forum discussion about the spill, where players can discuss the latest news, ask questions and share their opinions about the oil spill. This is tremendous given that Gaia Online has been the pioneer of virtual goods sales and is the most active social gaming community for today’s youth.

“The Gaia community is more than 8 million strong, and its members tend to be creative people who are concerned with world events. Whenever possible, we combine our virtual goods expertise with the passions that our users share. Using the strength of our virtual community to make a difference in the real world is very rewarding,” Liu said. He added, “We have a few charities in mind for the donation, like the Nature Conservancy and the United Way. In the spirit of always considering Gaians’ opinions when it comes to activities on the site, we are going to let our users tell us where they want their money to go via a poll when we are done with the fundraiser.”

For more information about the fundraiser or Gaia Online, check out www.GaiaOnline.com. The site is free to join and offers interactive games, stores and theaters for young gamers.

Site [Gaia Online]

Image Source courtesy of Gaia Online.