Rainforest Trust supporters Eric and Paul Chan are two brothers who love running. To raise awareness for rainforest conservation, they have mounted a challenge to beat the world record for “Most Desert Races Ran in One Year” while raising funds for Rainforest Trust from their friends and family on CrowdRise.

Scheduled to take place from April 2016 to February 2017, their adventure spans six continents and includes eight of the toughest and most extreme ultra marathons on the planet – from the Sahara Desert of Morocco to the Atacama Desert of Chile.The pair hopes their desert journeys will help to highlight how deforestation is destroying the environment.

Lifelong environmentalists, Eric and Paul decided to devote their great adventure to helping Rainforest Trust. “We are just two people, but we want to do our part to make a difference,” said Eric. Dubbing their online campaign “The 8 Deserts Challenge,” this is their first fundraiser and they are doing it in their own unique way. They encourage others to take action as well.

“You can start big or small because anything helps,” said Eric. “If you can donate money, that’s great! If you can start a fundraiser, that’s even better! The key is to raise awareness.”

When deciding which organization to support, Eric and Paul investigated many different charities and found that Rainforest Trust best met their standards of efficiency. “We love that 100 percent of donors’ money goes directly to conservation action,” said Eric. “That means protecting real rainforests and endangered species.”