Mairen Amanda Dumenigo has never stopped Protecting Our Public Lands. Now our dear friend and fellow collaborator needs help protecting herself against stage III cancer. If you are able, please, support her as she has supported the collective time and time again. She needs OUR help, today. 

As you know, Mairen Amanda Dumenigo is a single mom and the co-founder/Chair of Save Our St Vrain Valley, SOSVV. Many of you know her as a tireless environmental advocate who has spent the past decade protecting thousands of open space and wildlife habitat across our region from industrial projects. She has also worked courageously to expose un-permitted long‑term testing of toxic herbicides on public lands, pushing for accountability and safer practices. In the United States chemicals face high burdens of proof for harm before regulatory action is used. Amanda was working on these two issues (along with her paid equine therapy and staging/design business) when she ended up in the ICU in May.

The treatment plan ahead is intense, exhausting, and far beyond what she can manage alone as a single mother. Even with insurance, copays, supplements, the costs of care, time away from work, travel to specialists, and basic expenses for her and her teenage son are overwhelming. She is not someone who easily asks for help. Right now, however, she cannot continue to carry this burden without us.

Our goal is to raise $20,000 (consider $500+) to cover:

• Medical expenses not fully covered by insurance (co‑pays, medications, integrative care)

• Lost income while she undergoes treatment and is unable to work at full capacity

• Essential transportation to and from medical appointments

Every gift, no matter the size, makes a real and immediate difference. It means one less bill she has to worry about, one more day she can spend focusing on treatment. It is a way of saying to her, “You are not alone. We are with you.”

On behalf of Amanda and all of us who have worked beside her, thank you for reading this and for any support you can offer—financial, spiritual, or emotional. Your kindness is a lifeline in a time of uncertainty.

With gratitude,  

Tess McDonald 

SOSVV steering Committee Member, Detox Boulder County, DandyLyons Brigade