Welcome to Brook Dannemiller’s Fundraising Page for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

To donate just click the big orange DONATE button.

Here’s the story behind how and why I am involved with this amazing cause:

Historically, the New York City Marathon has raised an amazing amount of money for charity with only a few thousand runners fundraising. Imagine the impact if the entire running community comes together to get involved.  That day is here.  This year, New York Road Runners is partnering with Crowdrise to encourage all runners to fundraise as part of the 2011 ING New York City Marathon’s $1 million per mile campaign.

With that in mind, two AECOM employees, Brook Dannemiller and Drew Foley, have teamed up with project organizer and actor Edward Norton and Crowdrise, to raise funds and gain worldwide support for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT), an organization dedicated to preserving the legendary ecosystems and astounding biodiversity of the Maasai tribal lands of East Africa and promoting sustainable land practices.  It is the coupling of the promotion of sustainable and productive human land use with the simultaneous preservation of precious and necessary animal and plant habitats that makes the MWCT’s work so unique and valuable.

MWCT is a key partner of AECOM’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. AECOM has teamed with MWCT since 2009 in a variety of pro-bono initiatives including strategic planning, baseline inventory mapping, watershed mapping, market assessment, and fundraising support.  In 2009, AECOM runners joined Edward and Maasai runners on the MWCT team in the 2009 ING NYC Marathon, raising a team total of more than $1 million for MWCT.  This year we hope to raise as much or more, but we need your help.

Brook Dannemiller, Drew Foley,  and the rest of the MWCT team will run in the 2011 ING New York City Marathon on November 6th, 2011, to raise money that will fund health, education, and conservation programs for the MWCT.  Every runner is expected to raise a minimum of US$6,000.

The money the team raises will be used to protect lions, elephants, rhinos, and great herds of antelopes through conservation that directly benefits local Maasai communities.

Specifically, here are some ways your donation will positively impact the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust:

$1/mile will pay for the boarding of a game scout for 1 month, ensuring protection of lions and rhinos against poachers (Your Total Donation = $26). $1/mile will pay the salary of a teacher for 3 days at MWCT (Your Total Donation = $26). $5/mile will pay the salary of one Simba scout for 1 month to help protect lions from being killed by poachers (Your Total Donation = $130). $10/mile will pay the salary of a game scout for 1 month (Your Total Donation = $260). $20/mile will buy a radio for a game scout to track wildlife poachers (Your Total Donation = $520).

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Project Organizer Edward Norton writes:

I can see why people would say “Why work on something so far from home in such an exotic and remote place? What do the Maasai people have to do with our lives and our challenges?”

It’s a good question. My answer is that every day we learn more about how interconnected the natural systems on the planet are and we have to confront that what’s happening to the forests and oceans and ecosystems in far away places is going to have a big impact on everybody everywhere. The world increasingly relies on many traditional communities like the Maasai to protect the ecological treasures that exist within the land that they own. Figuring out how people in developing countries can thrive and grow without destroying some of the world's most important natural resources is going to be one of the great challenges of the 21st Century.

I support this effort because I think it’s the kind of model that’s going to truly save a healthy planet for future generations. And because the people involved are just flat out bad-ass and cool. And because it's fun.

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The world increasingly relies on many traditional communities like the Maasai to protect the ecological treasures that exist within the land that they own.  But the incredible wilderness and wildlife of Africa's grasslands and the famous culture of the Maasai people both face daunting threats to their long-term survival.  The fate of both rests with the Maasai themselves as they work to figure out how to benefit from their incredible natural resources while preserving them.

MWCT funds and operates programs that promote sustainable economic benefits from conserving this ecosystem.  Lease payments for conservancy zones, carbon credits, payments for watershed protection, sustainable eco-tourism, wildlife monitoring and security, conservation and tourism employment...these are just some of the ways MWCT is creating a cutting edge model of successful community-based conservation.  And these benefits go where the community needs them most: Education and Health programs.

The MWCT needs your help to help preserve the lions, elephants, rhinos, great herds of antelopes...and the Maasai, a model for all of us. These are treasures the whole world cherishes.

And the bottom line is that the runners on this MWCT team need your help to raise money for this cause.

To donate towards Brook Dannemiller’s goal of $6,000 please follow the following link and click the click the big orange DONATE button.  http://www.crowdrise.com/teammwct/fundraiser/BrookDannemiller.

To donate towards Drew Foley’s goal of $6,000 please click on the following link and click the big orange DONATE button.  http://www.crowdrise.com/teammwct/fundraiser/DrewFoley.

Please note that your donation to the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and your Charity Processing Fee are managed by Amazon.com Payments.  A printable record of your donation will be emailed to you.  Furthermore, your donation to a US-Based 501(c)3 charitable organization through Crowdrise is 100% tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.  Amazon provides an electronic receipt at the time of the donation that you should try not to lose but we can send another if you do. The charity processing fee is not tax deductible and will show up as its own transaction of your credit card.

MWCT is a pioneering partnership between professional conservationists and dynamic young Maasai leaders to show that the Maasai community can thrive, not just survive, by managing their ecosystem wisely.  Something we could all learn to do better.

All donations are greatly appreciated.  Pretty please pass this along to as many people as you can – we would surely appreciate it.

Thank you for your support and for spreading the word and passing this around!

Be well,

Brook Dannemiller and Drew Foley

To donate just click the big orange DONATE button.

Asche`oleing! (Maa for thanks a lot!)

AECOM Marathoners run for the Maasai (YouTube)

For more information about the runners, check out

Brook Dannemiller’s Crowdrise Profile Page and

Drew Foley’s Crowdrise Profile Page.