Shamed 5K

Pornography is the Lord Voldemort of addictions.  The "addiction which must not be named".  But, as Dumbledore said, "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself".  I mean, if someone says, "I am going to quit smoking!" that person gets a high five and a, "Hey dude that's awesome!  Good for you!".  If someone says, "I have struggled with an addiction to pornography for 20 years but I have been in recovery for 6 months now, I am so happy."  That person would be more likely to have someone avert their eyes and then change the subject.  Why is that?  Where are the high fives for that person?  Where is the support for that person?  Why are people so afraid to talk about or even acknowledge this?  Oh, I forgot...it's the Lord Voldemort of addictions...people are so afraid of it they can barely speak it's name.

The motto for the Shamed Documentary is: 

"Speak. Listen. Heal."

(More about Shamed in this blog post) 

 The experience I have had as I have shared about the Shamed Documentary is:

"Speak. Become incredibly uncomfortable. Let's never talk about this again." 

I've found that the "speak" part goes OK but the "listen" part is a little bit hard because the listener has run screaming for the hills right after I open my mouth. The listener is so shocked, terrified, and uncomfortable that they may as well have stuck their fingers in their ears, closed their eyes and said, in a little kid voice,"nanananalalalala".  Never the less I continue to try because I feel very passionate about the Shamed Documentary .  I truly believe in the positive impact it can make in the lives of individuals, families, communities and even society as a whole if it can get made and get out there. Although the original fundraising goal of $40,000 was reached, more money needs to be raised to make this amazing film a reality.

I want to help raise money for this film.  I originally wanted to invite people over to my house to watch the 30 min. rough cut video but in all honesty I do not believe that more than 3 or 4 people would come. A few very close friends who love us and that would probably be it.  I don't think I could raise very many funds that way.  So, here is the big question:  

How can you raise money for something you can't talk about?  

Here is my idea: How about a 5K run?  Would a 5K make people feel safe enough to participate and offer their support?  Could they run a 5K even if they don't feel able to speak openly about pornography?  Would a business be able to support this venture if they were able to get some advertising in return?  Could someone say..."I support this run" even though they can't say, "I am addicted to pornography" or "My life is affected by a loved one who is addicted to pornography"?  I personally know that I have participated in 5K runs where I didn't even KNOW what the cause was.  I just wanted a nice Saturday morning jog and there happened to be a 5K in my neighborhood.

Do you believe that a 5K to raise money for Shamed could be a success? Would you want to help me plan one?  Do you know how to plan one ('cuz frankly I never have)? Would you want to volunteer passing out water or bananas?  Do you know certain businesses that you think would support this cause?  Would you be brave enough to approach one and see if they would want to be a sponsor?  Would you run in this 5K?

If your answer to any of these questions is "yes" please email me at Shamed5K@gmail.com

My Best,
Faith