I’m back home now sitting on my couch and reflecting on the last 48 hours. I’ll be starting my full (for real this time) live Blogathon now so if you would like to pledge to keep me going please fill out the contact form on the Blogathon page. You can also donate directly on the UGM website by choosing “Miss604 Blogathon” from the drop down.

My theme for the next 26 posts will be the “A to Z” of Vancouver… here’s hoping I can come up with something for each letter and please feel free to leave me a comment with any suggestions.

Colleen Vince – While attending a Vancouver Podcaster Meetup at the Edge Cafe on Commercial Drive, I first met Colleen and hung out with some of the fine people behind the Row Three Podcast. This year Colleen has decided to take on the Blogathon, writing for 24 hours on her site.

Colleen’s website: 353 Review
Colleen’s cause: CKNW Orphan’s Fund
Colleen’s Blogathon motivation: “My charity of choice is the CKNW’s Orphan’s fund. I swear I was listening to our local Talk radio station Inutero, and over the years have grown to admire this small charity for their work in helping special needs children every day of the year. more info at the end of this post.” [353 Review]

Danny Dang – “Danny Dang is a blogger, wannabe photographer, systems administrator, technophile, and a full time geek.” Twitter brought us together virtually and Fraser Valley WordCamp joined us in person… albeit again through Twitter while I was giving my presentation.

Danny’s website: DannyDang.com
Danny’s cause: BCSPCA Paws for a Cause
Danny’s Blogathon motivation: “My charity of choice is the BCSPCA Paws for a Cause which I had started fund raising earlier this year for the upcoming walk.”

Mehnaz Thawer – Mehnaz was one of the first people to sign up for Blogathon Vancouver, and this truly inspired me (and made me thankful I’d found her super entertaining blog). She was able to reach out to her charity and they even included her Blogathon effort in a press release:

“Blogging is an excellent way to bring together networks of people with similar interests and to expand the pool of knowledge and exchange ideas. I found out about the Blogathon through a local newspaper and have had a chance to connect with many people through my blog. Blogs are a quick and easy way to get the most current information to audiences.” [AFABC]

Mehnaz’s website: Strawberry Ghetto
Mehnaz’s cause: Adoptive Families Association of BC
Mehnaz’s Blogathon motivation: “One in three people are touched by adoption, and this year as part of blogathon 2008, local Coquitlam/Burnaby blogger Mehnaz Thawer has chosen the Adoptive Families Association of BC as her charity of choice. Thawer, who has been a blogger for two years, realizes the impact AFABC has on many families and knows the importance of blogging in social movements and creating awareness.” [AFABC Press Release]

Jenn Lowther/Nadia Nascimento – Jenn and Nadia of Invoke are social media stars in their own right. Singing the praises of Twitter, present at many meetups and always with a funny story to share or a story that turns out being hysterical anyway. These two are dedicated their time this weekend on their corporate site with the help of others from Invoke:

Thus far, Nadia Nascimento, David Tedman, Dario Meli, Ryan Holmes, Andre Liem, Murat Ayfer, James Wilson, and our very own bacon chocolate chip cookie baking Zuri Scrivens have volunteered to write at least one post. This list will most likely grow as the actual date grows closer.

Invoke has set a fund raising goal of $3000 (thanks for everyone who’s donated – we reached our original goal within hours – it feels great to be able to increase it) for the blogathon. [Invoke]

Invoke’s website: Invoke Media Blog
Invoke’s cause: Lochmaddy.org
Invoke’s Blogathon motivation: “Invoke has chosen a charity that is very close to our hearts. Through the Lochmaddy Foundation, all donations will be directed to a community in Mali, West Africa. We are collecting donations through Plan Canada and would like to thank them and specifically Heather for all of their hard work in helping Invoke bring this all together.” Invoke is collecting pledges through Plan Canada.