Last month, thousands of runners hit the streets of Tulsa, OK, for a 2K, 5K and 15K run. In each race, several runners represented one team. They came from different towns and churches, but they still ran together. They passed out yellow bracelets and wore bright yellow tee shirts that sparked the same question:
“Hey, what’s Team Blackbox?”
And 33 runners were glad to explain.
Put simply, Team Blackbox is a way for runners to raise awareness and support for the boys of Blackbox International. It all started with high schooler Kasey Hendrix, who organized her own 5K on behalf of the organization. Most recently, at the 37th annual Tulsa Run, Team Blackbox runners paid a donation, learned more about sex trafficking through tourism, and told others about Blackbox both on the day of the race and later through social media.
Some had never run a race before. Others were experienced runners who placed in the top ten of their bracket. On race day alone, the team raised over $2,000 for the ministry. When one runner posted race pictures online, her facebook friend asked more about Blackbox and added, “I didn’t know this happened to boys!”
But the truth is, it does happen–to hundreds of thousands of boys worldwide, each year.
And so, they run. Whether organizing their own race like Kasey, or wearing yellow like the 33 in Tulsa, Team Blackbox runs for the boys whose stories must change.
Interested in representing Team Blackbox at a race in your area? Contact us at info@blackboxinternational.org.