Hi all, I am a member of the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Youth Advisory Council. In the past few months we have been working on a social media challenge, similar to the ALS ice bucket challenge, in order to raise awareness for the highly endangered vaquita. We partnered with a few other organizations, including the Texas State Aquarium, Aquarium of the Pacific, to develop the #Pied4APorpoise! I am reaching out to invite you to join in this movement to save the vaquita. Below are more details of the challenge. You can also check the #Pied4APorpoise hashtag on social media or vaquitas.org <http://vaquitas.org/> for additional details Overview: The purpose of this challenge is to help raise awareness and money for Vaquita conservation efforts! Vaquitas are the most endangered marine mammal in the world with less than 30 remaining. The Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita (CIRVA) is an international recovery team that recommended immediate efforts be taken in order to place some vaquitas into a temporary sanctuary, and then returned to the ocean once a permanent gillnet ban can be established. Marine mammal experts around the world have come up with an emergency conservation strategy in order to locate, catch, and relocate vaquitas to a safe place in the Gulf of California. This effort is not guaranteed to work and there are some challenges involved, however if conditions remain and no human intervention occurs the species is highly likely to disappear. It is everyone’s responsibility to give this species, which we have all put in danger, one last chance for survival. Learn more at vaquitacpr.org <http://vaquitacpr.org/> and vaquitas.org <http://vaquitas.org/>! General Rules: - Those who are nominated to participate in the challenge have 24 hours to film a short video of themselves getting pied in the face (This can be whipped cream, shaving cream, etc.). - Participants must post the video on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Youtube and nominate a minimum of 3 others to take the challenge in their video message and by tagging these individuals in text that accompanies the video on the social media platform of their choosing. - A nominee may opt out of the challenge by donating $30 ($30 for 30 vaquitas) to save vaquitas at vaquitacpr.org <http://vaquitacpr.org/>. - All participants are encouraged to donate to the cause. *Be sure to include the #Pied4APorpoise <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/pied4aporpoise?source=feed_text> #4aporpoise <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/4aporpoise?source=feed_text> hashtags in your post! Want to get involved? Here’s a sample Pied4APorpoise Challenge Video Script: The vaquita porpoise is the most endangered marine mammal in the world, with less than 30 remaining in a small region of Northern Mexico. We need to spread the word about this tiny porpoise or there won’t be any left. You can help by donating now at vaquitaCPR.org <http://vaquitacpr.org/>. I challenge X, Y, Z to get pied for a porpoise or donate $30 for the 30 vaquitas that are left, to VaquitaCPR.org <http://vaquitacpr.org/>. To join the challenge, share a creative video taking a pie for a porpoise and challenge three friends to do the same. Best, Hyejoo