Edward Norton wrote -

This year, for the 2011 NYC Marathon, I'm looking to recruit 10 official runners to join my team and fundraise for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.  We're asking each official runner to raise $6,000 for the MWCT.  

The 10 runners will each get a slot in the 2011 New York City Marathon and we'll all go to dinner in New York sometime before the race.  You'll also be a part of the campaign which I'll be tweeting about throughout the next couple months.  I'm not running this year but my goal is to raise a lot of money for the MWCT and I need your help to make it happen.  If you want one of these slots please email MWCT@crowdrise.com right away.

Please know the team is also open to every runner who already has a slot in the marathon and to everyone else who can join the team and help me fundraise.  But, it's just the first 10 people who commit to raising $6k each who get the official slots and dinner.

The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust is an organization I care about deeply.  I've been involved with the MWCT for over 10 years.  In 2009, 29 other runners and I ran the New York Marathon to raise money for the MWCT and the campaign was a success...we raised over $1.2 million.  The money we raise is used to protect the legendary ecosystems and astounding biodiversity of East Africa through conservation that directly benefits local Maasai communities.

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.

That's what MWCT is all about...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.

All donations are greatly appreciated.

To donate just click the big orange DONATE button.

Or go one step further, click the JOIN THE TEAM button to get your own page and then ask all your friends and family to donate and join the team as well. 

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