Jack Hanna Announced as Honorary Chair for Cheetah Conservation Fund’s HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS Team – Inaugural Run at the Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon May 18, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Teresa Delaney, Chair, Humans for Cheetahs, teresa@cheetah.org, (503) 515-6061 (Contact for specific event information and interviews with Jack Hanna)
Liz Georges, Communications Coordinator, liz@cheetah.org, (703) 402-5354 (Contact for information on Cheetah Conservation Fund’s work to save the cheetah in the wild)

Jack Hanna Announced as Honorary Chair for Cheetah Conservation Fund’s HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS Team – Inaugural Run at the Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon May 18, 2014

January 22, 2014 (Alexandria, VA) – Television personality and animal expert Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus of Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and the Wilds, has agreed to serve as the Honorary Chair for Cheetah Conservation Fund’s HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS team, which will be making its debut as an official charity partner team in the Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, May 18, 2014.

HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS is CCF’s new charity team initiative, launched in an effort to provide runners, bikers, and other racers the opportunity to help the world’s fastest land animal win the race against extinction. Participants, in exchange for raising money to support Cheetah Conservation Fund, will receive a complimentary event registration and other team benefits like a team jersey and access to training resources from sponsor Foot Traffic to prepare for the event. The Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon is the first in what CCF hopes will be a series of events around the country that will raise money and awareness to save the cheetah.

“The cheetah is known throughout the world as the ultimate runner,” says Jack Hanna. “I was so excited to add my support to CCF’s HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS team, and encourage competitors of all kinds to help us win the race against extinction. Nothing beats being able to do something you love AND make a difference, and HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS allows runners to do just that.”

The money raised by HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS will go to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, the world’s leading organization dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. Founded by Dr. Laurie Marker in 1990 in Namibia, Africa, CCF has pioneered new techniques to address common threats to endangered predators – such as implementing livestock guarding dogs with local farmers, thereby reducing human-wildlife conflict by reducing livestock losses. CCF’s conservation model is built on the principle that the best way to secure a future for the cheetah is to secure the livelihoods of the human communities that live alongside it.

“We’re so excited to launch this effort in Portland,” says HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS Chair, Teresa Delaney. “Portland, Oregon has always been such an active running community, and CCF has always had such a strong presence of supporters here. We’re hoping that the success we have here will inspire runners and bikers and other competitors across the country to start their own HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS teams in their cities.”

Competitors who want to race in the Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon as part of HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS, or start a HUMANS FOR CHEETAHS team in their community can learn more at CCF’s website: https://cheetah.org/united-states/volunteer/. For more information on the Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon’s charity partner teams visit: https://www.runrocknroll.com/.

Editor’s Notes
Founded in Namibia in 1990, Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is the global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs. CCF is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. CCF’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Laurie Marker, an American biologist, is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on cheetah biology, ecology and conservation and has developed CCF’s conservation strategy, which has contributed to increasing the wild cheetah population in Namibia by ~50%. CCF’s long-term studies analyse and monitor the factors affecting the cheetah’s survival in the wild, and results are used to develop conservation policies and education programmes that have reached over 300,000 people. CCF is a registered non profit in Namibia, the UK, Canada and the US. People can learn more about CCF or make a donation to the organisation by visiting www.cheetah.org.

Animal expert Jungle Jack Hanna’s hands-on approach has won him widespread acclaim as host of Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown and the Emmy Award winning Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild, which are sponsored by Nationwide Insurance and the Columbus Zoo. Recognized around the country as America’s favorite zookeeper, Hanna is Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, a conservationist, author, television personality, and lifelong adventurer. Jack has made countless television appearances since 1983 on shows such as Good Morning America, the Late Show with David Letterman, Larry King Live, The Talk, The Maury Show, Fox News Programs, and CNN News Programs. For more information, visit www.jackhanna.com