Weigh In #37

It's been a very busy week and I've pretty much been late to/for everything so far.... So why should the blog be any different, I guess?

Not a whole lot to report on due to the lack of free time. I've been running and keeping up with my nutrition. Working a lot. (startups rule!) And being slack about keeping current on the human trafficking stories and events.

A couple of quick hits:

Go over to End Slavery Now and get on the map!

Join me in supporting Love146.org with "210 in 2010".

Now, for the progress report. Friday morning's weigh-in was:

244.0

Getting closer to knocking out the original goal of 241lbs. And moving on to the new goal of 210lbs.

Please consider helping Love146.org this year and lending support. Feel free to contact me via email, on facebook, via twitter, or by leaving a comment on this (or any) post on the blog.

Photo courtesy of emlyn.

Weigh In #36

Those of you who have been keeping or (or recently catching up) know that the goal I set in September '09 is rapidly coming to an end. It looks like I may have set the bar too low. By the grace of God, instead of taking me until the end of October '10 (60 weeks) to lose 80lbs it looks like I'll probably reach that goal closer to 40 weeks (In June '10 sometime). So, it's time to set a new goal.

A friend of mine, and probably the greatest sailor I know, came up with an idea I really like: Get to 210lbs by the end of 2010. He even came up with a great tag line for it:

210 in 2010 (Two Ten in Twenty Ten)

And of course, I'm still committed to raising funds and awareness for fighting human trafficking. I'll be doing the same fund raising that I have been doing so far until I hit 241lbs (My original 80-60-40 goal). Once I get there, the game is going to change and that's where I'm going to need your help...

Two amazing people (and good friends) have thrown down the gauntlet. They have each pledged $210 towards the cause - but with 2 conditions:

1. I have to get to 210lbs before Dec 31, 2010.
2. I have to raise matching funds for each pledge.

I'll be taking care of the first part (losing the weight) but I need help with the second part.
If I can get $210 in pledges, then the first $210 in matching funds will be unlocked. If I can get another $210 in pledges, then the second $210 in matching funds will be committed. That means at least $840 in donations going to Love146.org in addition to what we've raised so far.

So I ask you, my readers and friends, can you help fight against modern day slavery? Any pledge/donation is worthwhile - nothing is too small or too large. If we can get $420 in pledges, we can double it!

You can pledge a fixed amount, an amount per pound (31 to meet the goal), or any sort of arrangement. Just let me know how you would like to be involved: email me at seekingafter@scbubba.otherinbox.com, message me on facebook, holler at me on twitter (@scbubba), or leave me a comment on this blog (any post will work).

So, in my quest to get smaller while supporting something bigger, I weighed in this morning:

245.0

So please help Love146.org with any amount you can and let me know what you can pledge towards 210 in 2010.

God bless you.
(I'll have another Freedom Friday post next week.)

Photo credit to Filipe Samora.

Weigh In #35

I'm a little (OK, a lot) late with Friday's post. Crazy week and weekend but we all made it through! So, stick with me for a little Freedom Friday on a Monday.

Thanks to @27millionslaves on twitter (also known as End Slavery Now), I found their awesome calendar of Anti-Trafficking Events. This calendar has a day-by-day listing of various events that the anti-trafficking community has going on around the world. I was amazed to see all the events on the calendar. I was also a little saddened to see that there were not more on there. But we can help get more events in more places...

Best estimates say that there are more than 27 million people in the bonds of slavery TODAY! That number includes people in just about every country in the world - and, yes, the US is in there too. So there are opportunities in abundance to help fight this global scourge. And the folks at End Slavery Now have stepped up to help us do just that.

Along with the calendar, they have the "New Underground Railroad". The railroad is a way to help people and organizations connect. You can choose what role you can play or search for the type of person or organization you are looking to connect with. It's a great idea for bringing people together for this cause.

Another cool part of the site is the "Take Action" section. In this part of the site you can get tips on what you can do in your every day walk of life to help with the fight. One side of the page has a place to choose a profession or activity that describes yourself. You can then see general suggestions for how to help. The left side of the page is a list of actions you may be interested in and ways to engage.

All in all, End Slavery Now is a great, and growing, site that can help anyone get plugged-in and active in the new abolitionist movement. Go check it out and help end slavery in our lifetime.

On to the weekly info. As I'm getting closer and closer to my original goal of 80lbs I keep thinking about what the next goal should be. Getting to 240lbs was never the stopping point - it was a waypoint. I'm not sure where the end number is yet but I'm going to keep on plugging. So, on Friday I got on the bathroom scale and saw

247.0

Still moving. A few more dollars for Love146.org. Definitely feeling better each day...

Weigh In #34

I'm continuing the "Freedom Friday" theme again this week. A couple of weeks ago, I pointed to a fellow named John Burger who works as an abolitionist. He is dedicated to, and working for, the freedom of enslaved people.

John linked to an incredible story about a 61 year old woman in Nepal who has created and runs a "safe house" for those rescued and freed from the sex trafficking going on in her country. The woman, Anuradha Koirala, has an amazing story and, more to the point, and incredible heart for the victims of the sex trade in her community. Go on over to John's site and read more about her or go see what CNN has to say about this amazing woman.

Also, please jump over to John's site and find out ways that you can help fight human trafficking.

On the local front, today was a weigh in day. So I stepped on the scale and saw

249.0

Ever closer to the goal. And a few more dollars into the donation bucket for Love146.org.

Check back next week for another Freedom Friday post.

Photo credit to geishaboy500.

Weigh In #33

Freedom.

It's a word that is on the lips or in the minds of a lot of people, especially here in the US. We are a country founded on freedom. We fought, many times, for independence. We talk about of freedoms, our liberties, our rights. It's kind of a big deal...

But there are millions of people that will wake up today who do not have the word freedom in their vocabulary. It is not a word that they will say today. It is not a thought in their minds today. It is not even a hope in their hearts today. To them, freedom just does not exist.

Of all these things, it is the death of hope that is the worst. You see, when a person is enslaved and dragged into human trafficking and exploitation one of the key things that the slave masters do is kill the idea and hope of freedom in the persons heart. They do this to people through physical, mental, and emotional abuse. It is a tragic and horrific story each time.

So, I'm moving my regular postings back to Fridays with a purpose. Aside from tracking my progress and the like, I also want to expand on some stories in and around the world of human trafficking and those fight to abolish it and end the nightmare. Along those lines I give you the first in a (hopefully) long line of "Freedom Friday" posts.

Since I've become a fan and supporter of Love146.org, I'll start with a snippet of the story about how they got their name and began their work. The full story can be found here.

We found ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room, looking at little girls through a pane of glass. All of the girls wore red dresses with a number pinned to their dress for identification. They sat, blankly watching cartoons on TV. They were vacant, shells of what a child should be. There was no light in their eyes, no life left. Their light had been taken from them. These children...raped each night... seven, ten, fifteen times every night. They were so young. Thirteen, eleven… it was hard to tell. Sorrow covered their faces with nothingness. Except one girl. One girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons. Her number was 146. She was looking beyond the glass. She was staring out at us, with a piercing gaze. There was still fight left in her eyes. There was still life left in this girl...

...Some time later, there was a raid on this brothel and children were rescued. But the girl who wore #146 was no longer there. We do not know what happened to her, but we will never forget her. She changed the course of all of our lives.

From there, the co-founders of Love146.org created an organization and a movement to free people from the bonds of slavery and to restore in them hope and love. It is an amazing story that is still being written. You can become a part of the story too. You can use the "Donate" in the sidebar on the right or you can go to the Love146.org site and see the many different ways they have to allow you to help out.

And there is always the option to sponsor me in my "This Must Change" challenge. As I have been losing weight, I have challenged myself and others to donate to Love146.org based on the amount I lose. With today's weigh in, I am at a total of 71lbs lost. With the help of very generous partners, they have increased the total amount raised so far to $262.00 (that number may have gone up depending on when you are reading this so you can check the counter in the right side bar for the most up to date amount). I encourage you to do what you can to help wipe out human trafficking and end slavery in our time.

With this move to Fridays, I weighed in this morning. Since Monday's weigh in, I have lost 1 more pound which brings me down to

250.0

I'm hoping to get below the 250 mark this week. And that puts me into only single digits remaining to reach my initial goal of 241lbs. But I'm way ahead of schedule and am setting a new goal soon.

Photo credit to ClearlyAmbiguous.