Virtual World Club Pirates Caribbean

Suntrust Bank Gift Makes A Significant Impact In Manatee County

Please join United Way of Manatee County in recognizing SunTrust Bank for their accomplishments.  Their generous support of the community and philanthropic efforts continue to a make tremendous difference, helping those who need it most.

The United Way of Manatee collaborates with 43 local human-service organizations and currently funds more than 70 programs and local initiatives.

The Healthy Start Coalition of Manatee County, Inc. convened its 54 member agencies and individuals to celebrate the organization’s achievements over the past year, listen to keynote speaker Dr. Dwight Fitch, and strengthen its community partnerships to address changes going forward given Florida’s current budget crisis. 

The overarching accomplishment highlighted was the Coalition’s overall impact in the community.  Healthy Start Manatee provided direct services to 2,881 mothers and infants during the 2009-2010 fiscal year and, during the first nine months of 2010-11, served 2,004 clients with care coordination, education regarding childbirth, parenting, breastfeeding, infant safe sleep and SIDS prevention, and nutrition and psychosocial counseling.  In addition, the Coalition provided outreach and education to hundreds of additional families via its Community Health Worker program, as well as events and activities throughout the county.  Created by Governor Lawton Chiles, the goal of Florida’s Healthy Start Coalitions is empowering women before, during, and after pregnancy with the tools to create healthy lives for themselves and their families.

Dr. Dwight Fitch, a local oncologist and Healthy Start Board Member, shared the latest research regarding tobacco use, particularly as it impacts pregnant women and infants, noting that approximately 18% of all women smoke and 10% of pregnant women smoke.  Dr. Fitch underscored that an 11% reduction in still births and a 5% reduction in newborn deaths would result if all pregnant women stopped smoking.  In addition, he highlighted the serious risks for infants and mothers associated with second and third hand smoke, which cause premature death and disease among adults and children.

Disney Online Creates New Team Focused on Online Virtual World ...

Disney Online Creates New Team Focused on Online Virtual World, Community and Games Steve Parkis to Lead Disney Online Studios

North Hollywood, California. (PRWEB) February 19, 2008

The development of Disney Online Studios combines the talents of some of Disney Online’s top team on the Internet to accelerate the development of new immersive online entertainment for children and families . Among the groups joining the team are the creators of the award-winning Disney.com XD (http://www.disney.com/xd) following the 2007 launch of the highly interactive broadband destination that combines games , video and community elements.

newly formed group will also include Disney Online’s Virtual Reality Studio, a group started with Disney’s Imagineering division before moving online to create ground-breaking virtual worlds including Disney’s Toontown Online (http:// www.toontown.com) and recently launched Pirates of the Caribbean Online (http://www.piratesonline.com). In addition to the existing resources, there is also a significant expansion of development, community, operations and publishing teams to more fully address growing opportunities in online games and community space.

“Online games and community continue to be an important focus of our entertainment content,” stated Yanover. “As the number one ranked site for kids and families, Disney.com reaches more than 27 million unique visitors a month (a), and far and away the top reason guests come to our site is for games and other interactive online entertainment. ”

lead Disney Online Studios team in publishing content that spans virtual world, casual online games, interactive and creative activities, and social communities. The team will publish both internal and external initiatives developed that utilize existing Disney characters and stories, as well as original intellectual property created specifically for the unique medium of Storytelling Online.

Taking on an expanded role within Disney Online Studios will be Mike Goslin, vice president of Virtual world and one of the lead developers of Toontown Online and Pirates of the Caribbean, which is assigned to guide the development of online virtual world and communities.

“Since the inception of the company, Disney has specialized in the creation of the world where interacting characters that tell wonderful stories,” Yanover said. “We believe that the new team will continue that tradition of bringing Disney characters and franchises to life. Both Steve and Mike bring a wealth of experience, creative talent and vision in exciting new space.

The Hollywood reporter

Advertising 2.0, social media marketing in a Web 2.0 world

Learning in 3D, Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration

Child, Family, School, Community, Socialization and Support

Rita Aero's Walt Disney World, The Essential Guide to Amazing Vacations