Children Facing Medical Hair Loss Receive Help Through New Website

2Advanced Studios donates new web design to non-profit organization, Locks of Love

ALISO VIEJO, CA (PRWEB) March 11, 2004 -- Locks of Love, a Lake Worth, Florida-based non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children with medical hair loss received a new site design that launched today from 2Advanced Studios, an award winning new media agency located in Aliso Viejo, Calif. The redesigned website will help Locks of Love work more efficiently by making content easily accessible, adding online forms to eliminate precious volunteer hours dealing with paperwork and content management to keep information current. 2Advanceds subsidiary, 2advanced.net is also donating web hosting services to support the tremendous monthly traffic that Locks of Love sustains.

Locks of Love is so thrilled to be sponsored by such an innovative web design team who are leaders in the industry," said Susan Stone, executive director of Locks of Love. As a nonprofit, Locks of Love doesn't have an advertising budget and 2Advanced's ability to double our web traffic and online participation will only enhance our organization's continuous growth. Besides increasing visibility, 2Advanced Studios has also increased functionality which benefits our visitors, as well as saves valuable staff time."

2Advanced worked with Locks of Love to strategize on ways that they could improve their web presence in order to become more efficient at their aims of helping children suffering from medical hair loss receive hairpieces made from real hair donated to their organization. The goal for the first phase of the project was to redesign their website to appeal to a wider audience, yet still keep its focus on the children they are helping. 2Advanceds skills with Flash design helped to create a simple navigation system in which visitors can easily access information and to make important documents and forms available online, eliminating the need for the mailing of paper documents, freeing up vital volunteer resources at the organization. Locks of Love also benefited from the backend development services that 2Advanced has become renowned for, with the addition of content management tools so that they can easily update critical information regularly to keep content accurate.

There are already plans for a second phase of development for the Locks of Love website which will include the development of backend tools to add new online functionalities to make helping Locks of Love easier for volunteers and participating salons. This will include the creation of a members-only section where volunteers can access and download materials to facilitate the planning of a fundraising event with a downloadable library of logos and forms, as well as event flyer and poster templates, as well as a media access section.

Because we have limited budgets and dont spend money on advertising, the Internet is essential to our organization in communicating our message and getting the word out to donors and recipients alike," said Stone. The new website will be a vital tool to reaching a wider audience across the world."

Since its inception in 1997, Locks of Love has helped over 1200 children suffering from medical related hair loss by providing them with custom-vacuum fitted hairpieces, made entirely from donated human hair and does not require the use of tape or glue. Most of the Locks of Love recipients are among the 2 million children who suffer from an auto-immune condition called alopecia areata, for which there is no known cause or cure. Others have suffered severe burns, or endured radiation treatment to the brain stem, in addition to many other dermatological conditions that result in permanent hair loss. Locks of Love is able to make this remarkable contribution due to the 3,000 plus hair donations they receive weekly from all over the world.

As strong supporters of the cause to help disadvantaged children, 2Advanced Studios and their subsidiary, 2advanced.net, are committed to making every effort to increase Locks of Loves exposure on the Internet through reliable web hosting and a continual

We know first hand how an effective and reliable web presence can help to market a business or a cause at fraction of the cost of traditional advertising," said Tony Novak, Chief Operating Officer of 2Advanced Studios. It is our hope that the new Locks of Love website will not only drive more traffic to the site and spread the word about this worthy cause, but also that the newly added functionalities will make information more accessible so that volunteers can spend more of their time helping children in need of these hairpieces, rather than being caught up in paperwork."

There are over 800 salons that have partnered with Locks of Love and offer free haircuts to those willing to donate their ponytails to the cause. Those that are interested in donating hair must be able to donate at least 10 inches of chemical and damage free hair (preferably 12 inches). For more information on the Locks of Love organization or to make a donation, please visit www.locksoflove.org.

About Locks of Love

Locks of Love began in 1997 and has helped over 1200 children since its first year of operation. The organizations success comes from the thousands of hair donations that arrive from all over the country as a result of national publicity Locks of Love received in newspapers, magazines and television programs. Children comprise over 80 percent of the donors, making this a charity where children have the opportunity to help other children. For more information, please visit www.locksoflove.org.

About 2Advanced Studios, LLC.

Founded in 1999, by President and Co-Founder, Eric Jordan, 2Advanced Studios has quickly evolved into an award-winning new media agency with nearly 20 employees. World renowned for their creative talents in Macromedia Flash design, 2Advanced also offers a wide range of design and development services, including Interactive Design, Development and Backend Solutions, Broadcast Video, 3D Graphics, Multimedia, Identity and Audio Production. In the past year alone, 2Advanced has received significant recognition in more than 30 different magazine articles, contributed to the writing of eight design-related books and was awarded over 20 different design awards for client websites. Located in Aliso Viejo, California, the 2Advanced team constantly strives to push the creative boundaries of technology to deliver high impact new media solutions that create a lasting impression. For more information, visit www.2advanced.com.

About 2advanced.net

2advanced.net, located in Aliso Viejo, California offers flexible hosting solutions that offer peace of mind. Built from the latest in high-speed data communications technologies and reliable IBM server class systems, the 2advanced.net Data Center is a state-of-the-art, 6,750 sq. foot facility located on premises with a 24x7 manned Network Operations Center. Hosting packages include Shared, Dedicated and Virtual Private Servers on Windows and Linux platforms, with a wide range of add-on services for a customized solution. For additional information, please visit www.2advanced.net.

For media inquiries, contact:

Jami Beaton

2Advanced Studios

jbeaton@2advanced.com

949.330.7588

949.584.9669 cell

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