Nancy Motto's Fundraiser:

Dear Fellow Elephant lovers,

I have always been an elephant lover myself and have quite an extensive collection of elephant figurines from all corners of the world. But now is the time to do something for the real flesh and blood animals who are facing one of the biggest battles of their lives.

My husband, Louis, and I are planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this summer. As we began planning our trip in earnest, I realized that we could do something special for the elephants as part of our training. In that spirit, we are raising money for the David Sheldrick Trust in Kenya. David Sheldrick was a world renowned naturalist and founder warden of Tsavo East National Park in Kenya which has one of the largest elephant populations in Africa. To honor his memory, his wife Daphne set up the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust which runs an elephant orphanage that rescues and raises young elephants and then returns them to their natural environment.

With an increasing demand for ivory resulting in the wholesale slaughter of elephants, this need has never been greater. The New York Times reports that “2011 broke the record for the amount of illegal ivory seized worldwide, at 38.8 tons (equaling the tusks from more than 4,000 dead elephants)”. But there is much more ivory that isn't seized. Conservation Frontlines, a publication of the Wildlife Conservation Society, reports that "In early February 2013, the Government of Gabon announced that Minkebe National Park, once home to Africa's largest forest elephant population, has lost a staggering 11,000 individuals due to poaching for the ivory trade."

Our target fundraising amount is the first four digits of Mt. Kilimanjaro's altitude .  It's actually 19,341 feet in altitude.  We are organizing two "backpacking for pachyderms" hikes and brunches for family and friends in order to raise money for this cause, but all are welcome to donate to this cause. We appreciate any donation you can make.

Nancy and Louis