2advanced.net Sponsors non-profit, Locks of Love to Leverage the Power of the Internet

Premiere Web Hosting Solutions Provider Donates Services to Support Children Facing Medical Hair Loss

HostReview.com
Friday, February 13, 2004; 12:00 AM

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — February 13, 2004 —2advanced.net, premier web hosting solutions provider, today announced that they are making a charitable donation of free web hosting services to Lake Worth, Florida-based Locks of Love; a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 with medical hair loss. 2advanced.net will provide web hosting services to support the dramatic increase in Locks of Love website traffic while leveraging the power of the Internet to spread the Locks of Love message.

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, which in turn positively enhances their self esteem. 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. Without spending money on advertising, Locks of Love says this incredible outpouring of donations is partially from the national press that they have received over the years, but people from countries like Mexico, Australia and England are also making donations and for that, they credit the World Wide Web.

“Because we have limited budgets and don’t 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 Susan Stone, Executive Director of Locks of Love. “Because 2advanced.net has one of the most state-of-the-art platforms to manage and sustain the amount of traffic we receive during peak times we are able to confidently communicate our message to a much larger audience, without the threat of overloading our servers.”

According to Stone, Locks of Love doubled their website traffic in January alone, bringing in a record 3.7 million visitors to their site. The organization will be featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in early March and it is vital that their website be hosted on a platform that can handle the traffic that they expect their appearance will bring to the site, as their previous host was unable to support them previously with other major media coverage.

Locks of Love provides its recipients with a vacuum-fitted hairpiece made entirely from donated human hair and does not require the use of tape or glue. The cost for these finished hairpieces would start at $3,000 if purchased in a store, but the children get them for free or almost free, depending on the family’s ability to pay. 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.

As strong supporters of the cause to help disadvantaged children, 2Advanced Studios, a world-renowned new media agency and their subsidiary 2advanced.net are making every effort to increase Locks of Love’s exposure on the Internet. 2advanced.net is donating web hosting services to support the tremendous monthly traffic that Locks of Love sustains, and 2Advanced Studios is working closely with the organization to completely redesign their website and introduce new features to greatly enhance site usability and aesthetics while helping visitors to gain access to important information such as downloadable forms, media kits and volunteer kits which will in turn save the non-profit’s limited resources.

“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. “We are elated that we can do our small part in helping Locks of Love to convey their message to the digital world and are dedicated to working together to significantly bolster the effectiveness of Locks of Love’s web presence.”

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.

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About Locks of Love
Locks of Love began in 1997 and has helped over 1200 children since its first year of operation. The organization’s 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.

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.

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.

For media inquiries, contact: Jami Beaton 2Advanced Studios jbeaton@2advanced.com 949.330.7588 949.584.9669 cell