50 miles on my 50th birthday to set 50 women free

When we closed the online giving for the 50FOR50 event, we had collected just over $35,000. Then, a few more checks were mailed in, and with one final check on its way, we're going to finish this campaign at $35,500!!

I'm speechless!

If you still have a donation you'd like to give, you can still mail it to us at The Gathering, ATTN 50FOR50, P.O. Box 292, Albemarle, NC, 28002.

You can also check out our website - www.50for50.info - to get the information there about how to give directly to the organizations I was running for.

Over the next 2 weeks, we'll be mailing donation statements and receipts as well as sending three checks (one each) to the three amazing organizations we were supporting: A21, Justice Ministries, and Aaron's Hands.

Again, thank you! Without your help, this would have just been a super long run. :)

Paul

It's hard to believe that what started as a crazy idea - run 50 miles on my 50th birthday to set 50 women free from human trafficking - is so close to coming to an end. Let me just say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have supported this cause in time and energy, who have shared this cause on various social media outlets, and who have donated money to it.

As the final donations come in throughout the day today (and even some in the mail), I have no doubt that we will end up raising over $35,000!!

Let that sink in: THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!

Once the online giving closes at midnight tonight, I'll send out one final update with details about how all of us can continue to support the many organizations (not just the 3 I ran for) that are fighting to set free the millions of men, women and children who are victims of human trafficking.

As of this update, we are only $215 short of the $35,000 mark, and I can't wait to post the 35 image when we get it.

Wow! Just wow.

$500 is all that stands in the way of setting our 35TH PERSON FREE!!

Five hundred dollars.

Thank you for being so generous!!! #EndHumanTrafficking

GREAT JOB!!

After our post yesterday, an additional $200 came in and now we're only $550 shy of the 35 THOUSAND DOLLAR mark with 3 days remaining!!!

Come on, somebody! 10 people giving $55 and we're there!

THIS IS IT!!

We're in the final week of the online fundraising for the 50FOR50 run and we are BLOWN AWAY by how much money has been raised to this point! Currently, we've seen $34,250 come in - enough to set 34 women free from human trafficking - and we've got 4 days left to go.

How many people can we set free before we close the fundraiser on April 30th?

35? 40? 50?

Thank you for being generous, and for sharing this update and helping us get this campaign in front of as many people as possible over the next 4 days!

As we were making plans to send out an update to let everyone know that the campaign was coming to a close, we got an email from Fundly asking us to extend it a bit more because it has just made it into their non-profit "Trending" category, and when we checked, sure enough there we were on the first page of those listings.

THIS IS HUGE, and so.....

We're going to extend the online campaign through the end of the month, which means that we've got a little over TWO WEEKS LEFT to share, share, share and share this campaign so that those who haven't given yet will have the opportunity to!!

Thank you so much for all that you've already done to help rescue the victims of #HumanTrafficking. 34 free, 16 to go!!

Just a quick update... today we had our 200TH DONOR and we are only $45 shy of $33,000 in total funds raised! That means we're about to set our 33RD PERSON FREE!!

The run is DONE!!!

What a day it was last Saturday! We had so many people stop by to cheer me on as I was running, plus others who ran with me for parts of the 50 miles. In fact, over 250 miles were run by people during the day, and 3 people ran more than half the miles with me!

So far, we've seen just over $29,000 donated, and we're pumped to see what happens over the next 26 days as we continue to promote what HAS BEEN DONE and WHAT STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE.

You'll notice in the image attached to this update that the story has been liked on Fox 46 Charlotte's Facebook page almost 2,000 times - wow! People are hungry for POSITIVE NEWS, and every time stories like this get shared, the reach grows more and more. That's how we'll eventually see the remaining $21k come in. So click the link, like the story, and then share it. (https://www.facebook.com/fox46charlotte/posts/346870908770348)

NEWS UPDATES:
It was great having Kevin out from Fox 46 to cover the end of the race. Huge shout out to him and the whole Fox 46 team!

I'll be talking with Shannon at the Stanly News and Press later today about a follow up in our local paper.

Wendy and I had a phone interview with a writer from PE News, an international publication of the Assemblies of God. The article is being written and proofed, and should be available online either this week or the next.

As always, the more of YOU who share things, the more VIRAL things go. If you want to know HOW TO SHARE about 50FOR50 in the most beneficial way, download our instruction sheet. You can find it at http://www.pauljenkins.tv/50for50/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Social-Media-instructions.pdf

Thanks for making my 50th birthday special, not only for me, but for the women we're freeing!

Paul

WE'RE AT 25%!!!!!

This is a HUGE milestone - and not only have we reached 25%, we've already moved PAST IT and have raised over $13,000!! Thank you for giving, for sharing, and for believing in this cause! Without you, I'd just be running 50 miles. With you, I'm setting 50 people free!!

By the way, did you see the story that aired last night on Fox 46 in Charlotte? If you didn't, here's the link so you can watch it and then share it. http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/local-news/108342697-story

I've got ONE MORE RUN this week before THE BIG ONE happens on Saturday. To make sure you catch all the live updates that I'll be posting during the run, PLEASE ADD ME AS A FRIEND ON FACEBOOK if you haven't already. Just go to https://www.facebook.com/pauljenkins.tv and shoot me a friend request and you'll be ready to go!

As always, I'd LOVE TO HAVE YOU RUN/WALK WITH ME. here's the page with information about the loops and the times I should be running them. There's also a sign up sheet if you'd like to snag a sweet time slot!! https://www.pauljenkins.tv/50for50/?page_id=54

Keep praying about the weather. The forecast is JUST ABOUT PERFECT!

It's 3 days away!!!!

Paul

GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING!!!

One - we made the front news of the Stanly News and Press! You can check it out at http://www.thesnaponline.com/news/years-miles-women-pastor-plans-run-to-free-women-bound/article_0d35d40a-e576-11e5-8f2d-13123755173f.html

Two - we've passed the $10,000 mark in funds raised!

Now, with just over a week until the big day, here's what we need YOU to do:

Pray for cool temps! Early forecasts had highs on March 19th in the mid to upper 70s, and that's TOO HOT.

Help me convince the larger market news media that PEOPLE WANT TO SEE GOOD NEWS MORE THAN BAD NEWS!! Share what we're doing with WBTV, WSOC, FOX 46, and WCNC. Blow up their pages so that they have to take notice!!!

Thanks for all the support! It's almost GAME TIME!!!

WOW!!! It's amazing what is happening through the campaign. Just a few days ago I posted a video on our 50FOR50 Facebook page, and one week later it's been seen almost 4,000 times and it's reached over 141,000 PEOPLE!!!! What??!

At this point, we're only $500 shy of reaching the $10,000 mark in funds raised, and with the donor pledges we've received, that's just a matter of time (we just don't like to count it until the money's been received, but it'll happen!).

So, here we are with a little over 2 weeks before I take about 100,000 steps toward eradicating slavery for 50 women, and here's what I need YOU to do:

1. If you haven't already, go to our Facebook page and share the video I mentioned above. It's amazing how far it's beginning to reach, and we can't be viral enough. See it at http://tinyurl.com/zh8zrz3

2. Buy a T Shirt!! We've got a local supplier who is donating the shirts, and so everyone we sell is $10 more in the fight to free 50 women. Order form is at http://tinyurl.com/j85uldd

3. Want to run with me, either physically or virtually? We've got a Google Doc that you can use to sign up for which loop you'll be running? Heck, get people to sponsor you and then you can send that money in to add to our total. Google Doc is at http://tinyurl.com/heqeomo

As always, SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!!! It's getting closer, and we can't wait!

Paul

Our goal was to be at least 15% funded before the end of February, and we've met that goal with over 10 days left in the month!!

So.... let's go for 20% funding by March 1. To date, we've received just over $7,600 and we've got one Gold Level sponsor who has committed and has the funds on the way. So, with one month left before I run my legs off, we're raised over EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS!! Awesome. How cool would it be to wake up on March 1 and be in the FIVE FIGURES in the money raised??

WE CAN DO THIS!! Share this update, and give if you haven't yet. It would only take 40 people giving $50 each to get us to $10,000!

Thank you!!!!

We've passed the TEN PERCENT mark!!! Our goal is to be 15% funded by the end of February, and we're on target to meet that goal and even surpass it!

On the personal side, I've spent the last few days recovering from a nasty head cold. I still ran this morning, but not as much as I normally would, so I'm asking for your prayers as I am going to running more often and more miles over the next 6 weeks in preparation for the 50 mile run.

Pray for strength, for safety, for rest, for focus and for determination. And continue to pray with me that this event would catch the viral wave so that more people outside of our area can hear about it.

After you've prayed, share this with your social media friends. Thanks, again, for the support! 5 women are free, but we've got 45 more to go!!

52 DAYS AWAY???

For those of us in the "sunny" south, this week will be a return to normal after Winter Storm Jonas, and I am ready for that! After running in the snow and ice lowered my training distance last week, I'm ready to return to my normal training schedule!

On the FUNDRAISING side: we are now 5% FUNDED!!!! Our goal was to be at 5% by the end of January, and that means we're already ahead of schedule, but it'll take a lot of work to meet our goal of 15% funded by the end of February. No worries, though. With God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!

On the AWARENESS side: our promo video should be done this week, and that's the one that needs to be shared EVERYWHERE. Our goal is to see this short video SHARED OVER 200 TIMES IN THE FIRST FEW DAYS than it's posted.

I've also got potential interviews with WSOC 9 and WBTV 3 coming up. The one with WBTV looks like it'll be an ON AIR INTERVIEW during their WEEKDAY MORNING SHOW. Pray for more contacts like that.

Thanks for your support and your help. THIS IS A BIG GOAL, but I serve a BIG GOD who wants 50 WOMEN TO BE FREE!!!

It's been a great start to this campaign! We've already raised enough to set one person FREE FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING!! Thank you to those who have already donated and shared the campaign!

The video announcement about the race has been shared over 70 times and seen over 2.1k times...and we're just getting started. I'll be shooting a short promo vide this weekend that you'll have the opportunity to share next week. Remember, THE MORE VIRAL THIS GOES, THE MORE WOMEN ARE FREED!