Run for Mercy Kids T-Shirts Available - Only $5

Hey everyone! Once again, thank you so much for participating in all of our races this year. We have a few Run for Mercy kids t-shirts left from the races and are selling them for only $5 each! These shirts do not include location or sponsor information on the back. They'd make great Christmas gifts too!

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt for only $5, please email nashville@mercyministries.com.

Race Results for Nashville's Run for Mercy 5K!

Nashville residents joined their supporters as team “Nashville Mercy Girls” at the starting line Saturday morning to help raise support and awareness for Mercy Ministries. This year’s Run for Mercy 5K and Family Walk at Edward Warner Park in Nashville had an exciting 436 participants and $29,000 was raised to support the work of Mercy Ministries.

Taylor Walthall, this year’s top female finisher had this to say about race day:

“It was exciting to have finished first, but the real excitement was seeing how many people turned out to support Mercy. I loved hearing the testimonies of God’s hand at work transforming lives."

Click Here for the race day results!

St. Louis and California Run for Mercy Race Results

St. Louis, MO:

250 runners/walkers raised $24,000 at Run for Mercy in St. Louis this past Saturday! We prayed for months that it would not rain - in years past, it has been very hot - so we didn't pray about the temperature. Funny thing is, it was in the mid 30's when the volunteers arrived to set up at 6 a.m. in the dark, cold, foggy morning. No rain, though! It was a gorgeous day. Chilly, but real runners like that kind of weather!

A big thanks to Jamey Bridges for being the emcee for this event and to Einstein Bagels, Starbucks and Stratton's Cafe' for donating a yummy breakfast! We are especially thankful to all our Team Mercy participants and our committee members and family who worked for hours to get everything set up!

We would also like to thank Anna Stegmann for volunteering to photograph the 5K. She had this to say about Saturday's events.

“It's incredible to watch the passion that is poured out by this community for these hurting young women. As a young woman, I could have benefited from a Mercy home in my community. It's clear to me that the Lord has placed an incredible opportunity before these girls."

Here's the lowdown on Saturday's race results:

LAST	FIRST	NUMBER	TIME
Hall	Gene	803	20.18
Lam	Ben	888	21.09
Bergin	Sparkle	824	21.22
Zlatarich	mike	884	22.03
Barker	Cole	812	24.1
Fogt	Austin	813	24.1
Ockerhausen	Shannon	854	25.32
Herron	Brande	814	26.1
Andrew	Ray	835	26.49
Stephens	Sarah	846	26.55
Brewer	Chris	810	27
Cross	Jenny	804	27.07
Cash	Whitney	820	27.07
Blonsky	Sarah	885	27.17
Neirtnck	Tom	822	27.29
Cressey	Danny	881	27.35
Clifton	Richard	861	27.36
Reynolds	Daniel	863	27.37
Nowotny	Nicole	853	27.58
Bartlesmeyer	Helen	872	28
Kamps	Matthew	891	28.05
Kamps	Eugene	892	28.05
Wilson	Bethany	818	28.58
Braun	Sarah	840	29.12
Brugere	Julie	811	29.17
Braun	Samuel	839	29.29
Braun	Justin	838	29.29
Kraft	Felice	838	29.35
Stipanovich	Terri	852	29.35
Heiges	Paula	874	29.56
Brunner	Naomi	878	29.56
Prim	Amy	819	30
Lay	Doug	823	30.19
Robinson	Brianna	877	31
Lam	Tony	887	31
Hayden	Andrea	833	31.31
Leu	Gina	837	31.31
Heiges	William	875	31.55
Thies	Andrea	868	32.15
Florian	Robyn	871	32.15
Niere	Kathryn	826	33.07
Scharlotte	Audrey	821	33.07
Moeller	Abby	880	33.07
Wood	Darlene	830	34.18
Kloeppel	Michelle	836	34.48
Picou	Jana	889	35.01
Onishile	Morna	858	35.58
Otz	Jes	817	36.08
Hutchins	Walt	845	38.05
Markham	Ally	847	38.05
Grinder	Jen	865	38.05
Sassenrath	Kaye	825	40.25
Opoku	Harriet	859	41.24

* Due to unforeseen complications as a result of high numbers of registered runners, we are only able to report a portion of the participants times. We are committed to full reporting in years to come. Thank you for your support of Run for Mercy.

Lincoln, CA:

Altogether the 350 runners and walkers who came to support the Lincoln Mercy Ministries home on Saturday raised $20,000! We were excited that Mercy Ministries graduate, Lauren, shared her testimony with the crowd after the race and everyone got to tour our brand new West Coast home!

One Team Mercy runner, Ryan Wallace, said, "It was really fun to be out there running for such a great cause like Mercy Ministries. I was excited to come in 8th place this year and even more excited to see that there are girls living here in the CA home now!

Here are the final results from Saturday's Run for Mercy:

LAST	FIRST	TIME
Garcia	Art	19'44
Lemoin	Myles	21'35
Silva	Rylie	22'24
Aspenlind	Sean	22'29
Harper	Michael	22'31
Harper	David	22'34
Schafer	Josh	22'48
Wallace	Ryan	23'28
Rau	Tim	23'33
Terrell	Trace	23'37
Lester	Ben	23'47
Stephenson	Skyler	24'09
Hughes	Jonathan	24'21
Ewing	Phillip	24'53
Bryan	Noelle	25'12
Harris	Laura	25'26
Saathoff	Eric	25'26
Campbell	Ken	25'48
Briggs	Matt	25'51
Ryan	Mark	25'51
Maymi	Tiffany	26'04
Eastman	Mallory	26'06
Duxbury	Darren	26'08
Drumm	Margie	26'12
Frye	Chelsea	26'25
Erickson	Bill	26'30
Gnile	Scott	26'32
Frost	Tim	26'36
Kithcart	Ashley	26'50
Mitchell	Danny	26'57
Simmons	Eric	27'01
Duxbury	Jenny	27'24
Bickford	Ron	27'34
Abina	Jordan	27'45
Babasin	Melissa	28'01
Clark	Felicity	28'04
Faucette	Georgianne	28'18
Pellant	Jen	28'20
Moynagh	Tammy	28'21
McCrae	Kelsey	28'36
O' Boyle	Samantha	28'41
Miller	Chelsey	29'00
Todhunter	Sam	29'05
Duncan	Hannah	29'18
O'Boyle	Sean	29'25
Murrow	Stephanie	29'28
Pauls	Faith	29'29
Cunningham	Anna	29'30
Dewitt	Lauren	29'31
Fraze	Wendy	29'41
White	Rachel	29'56

Way to go all you Runners!!!

A message from Nancy Alcorn

I just wanted to give a special shout out to all the runners that participated in the Run for Mercy 5K fundraisers that took place in St. Louis, Missouri and Lincoln, California (the location of our new home just outside of Sacramento). We had such a great turnout, and everyone had so much fun!!! I wanted to thank not only our runners, but also the many volunteers and staff that worked tirelessly to make these events successful. You can tell by these pictures what a great time everyone had.

St. Louis Run for Mercy

We had 250 runners join us to raise money for Mercy in St. Louis and they raised approximately $26,000! We also had 350 runners in Lincoln and they raised $20,000 for Mercy! I thought you’d like to see some of the pictures from both of these events.

California Run for Mercy

We are actually getting ready to do a similar event in the Nashville area. If you want to participate in the Run for Mercy 5K on Saturday, October 24th or to participate in a city near you, check out www.runformercy.org for more information.

Hope to see you there!

'Run for Mercy' exceeds goals

Event funds home that helps girls

By Harriet Vaughan • THE TENNESSEAN • October 2, 2009

FRANKLIN — The countdown has begun for Mercy Ministries inaugural Run for Mercy fundraising race.

Planners hope that the first-time event will raise big money for the faith-based Brentwood home that helps girls escaping drug addictions, abuse, low self esteem, self harming, eating disorders, depression and more.

The race will start at 9:00 a.m. Oct. 24 at Edwin Warner Park.

Planning for the race has been several months in the works. Organizers had hoped to attract 200 runners. Three weeks out they already have 220 people registered with more coming in. They also have passed the original fundraising goal, bringing in $15,000 so far.

One of the teams registered is of a group of girls who live at the Mercy home.

"It really shows how much of an impact Mercy has made on them, that they would make that choice," said Whitney Nall, community relations manager.

"They started in September working out and training for this. They're working with the fitness manager each week on this goal. It's been a neat way for them to just encourage each other and work together and celebrate the journey they've been on here at Mercy. And they're giving back to Mercy so that funds can keep coming in and so others can receive the help that they have."

The event will offer something for the entire family, including the youngest runners. There will be a Kids Carnival zone featuring face painting, free smoothies, Chik-fil-A, three-legged races and more.

"Most of our events in the past have been for adults. This is one of our first major family-friendly events. We're excited that kids of all ages can come out and do something fun and healthy in the fall," said Nall.

It's all for a good cause, according to Nall. The home has helped hundreds of girls over the years come out of addictions, overcome abuse and learn to love themselves through a faith-based approach.

To learn more and to register, visit www.runformercy.org/nashville or call 615-831-6987.

Contact Harriet Vaughan at 615-771-5415 or hvaughan@tennessean.com.

Run for Mercy Marathon in St. Charles, MO

Mercy Ministries St. Louis residents cheered for their Run for Mercy marathon team at the starting line on Sunday morning at the Lewis and Clark Marathon and Half Marathon in St. Charles, MO. Participants for Team Mercy joined thousands of runners to enjoy the historic Missouri River Valley on foot and to help raise support and awareness for Mercy Ministries!

Volunteers, runners, staff and residents gathered the night before the race at the St. Louis home for a pre-race pasta party. Everyone enjoyed hearing personal testimonies from two current St. Louis residents who will be graduating soon. Victoria McCarter, Co-chair of the Mercy community board in St. Louis and Chair of the Run for Mercy Marathon Committee, also shared words of encouragement for our runners.

St. Louis Program Director, Melanie Harbert and Household Manager, Chetta Peniston also ran the half-marathon on Team Mercy! This was an exciting time for the residents to support staff from their very own home. One of the St. Louis residents, Lindsay, said, “Getting up at 4:00 am was well worth being able to cheer on the Mercy team! Witnessing this kind of selflessness by so many different people brought tears to my eyes as they crossed the finish line!

Now is a great opportunity for you to support Mercy Ministries by joining an existing Run for Mercy team, forming a new team or registering as an individual participant in a Run for Mercy race near you. Look for a race near you at www.runformercy.org.

Run for Mercy iPod Give Away!

Alright, Mercy fans! It’s time to put away your flip flops and pull out your running shoes. We are exactly 50 days away from Nashville’s first Run for Mercy 5K & Family Walk. There are all sorts of reasons that you should join us and run, walk or be a virtual runner. Your registration money goes towards Mercy Ministries—which will then in turn bless the life of one of our residents. We have seen over 90 girls graduate from the Nashville, Monroe and St. Louis home since January 2009…which means we are right on track with having our residents stay an average of six months. This is such a praise because we are able to have that many more girls come off of our waiting list. Another major praise is that we plan to open the doors of our first West Coast home in Sacramento, CA on October 1! There are so many exciting events happening at Mercy Ministries—that would not be possible without the support of our amazing donors and event registrants.

In honor of our first Run for Mercy 5K & Family Walk in Nashville, we are happy to share with you all sorts of incentives to signing up. THE FIRST incentive to announce is that we will be giving away awesome Mercy Ministries tote bags (the kind you can go grocery shopping with) with all sorts of local freebies inside to our first 200 registrants. Chick-Fil-A, The Perch, Smoothie King, The Cupcake Collection, 9 Fruits, DrinkHaus and more will be putting coupons into these bags—so sign up today so that you can partake in the yummy items around town! THE SECOND incentive to announce is that by registering for the event, you are also registering to win an 8gb iPod nano! A special drawing will be held on the day of the Run for Mercy 5K & Family Walk in Nashville. Only one winner will be selected and you must be registered to participate in this event to be eligible to win this prize.

Please spread the word about this fun event to your friends, family, churches, exercise groups and more! Get out in this gorgeous weather and start preparing for this race…and if you get really into it, and want a snazzy “Run for Mercy” t-shirt or pair of socks to wear as you train—check out the awesome “Run for Mercy” apparel on our online store: https://www.mercyministries.org/Store/c-9-run-for-mercy.aspx.

Point of Grace, Jaime Jamgochian and more...

What an exciting past couple of days we have had here in Nashville! Point of Grace blessed us the other night with their amazing hearts and voices as they put on a mini-concert at the Nashville Mercy Ministries Home. This mini-concert was the grand prize for any of our individuals that ran in the Country Music Marathon that raised $1000 or more—and for any of our groups that ran who raised $1500 or more. Each winner that was here to celebrate was truly touched by the intimate night of worship with Point of Grace.

Nancy Alcorn with Point of Grace

Point of Grace with Run for Mercy team

Point of Grace with Anna Dunn Fonville

Yesterday, Jaime Jamgochian met us for lunch at the Puffy Muffin to celebrate with our grand prize individual winner, Anna Dunn Fonville. It was fun for all to share how we each got connected with Mercy Ministries—and to hear where the Lord has each person serving in different areas of life—but relating over the common bond of supporting Mercy Ministries. To date, $22,800 has been raised for Mercy Ministries from our runners in the Country Music Marathon—and over $6,000 of this money was raised by Anna Dunn from Raleigh, NC. Thank you to all for reaching out to friends and families and bringing these donations in for Mercy! We have been truly blessed by your support.

Lunch with Jaime Jamgochian

If you missed participating in the Country Music Marathon in April and would like to join up with “Run for Mercy” in Nashville, TN—feel free to send an email to Nashville@mercyministries.com today for more information about upcoming events.

3rd Annual 'Run for Mercy' Marathons in Nashville and St. Louis

Team Mercy in St. Louis

Mercy Ministries in St. Louis, MO welcomed its 3rd annual Run for Mercy marathon team on Sunday, April 19th and Nashville did the same on Saturday April, 25th. There were 26 participants in the St. Louis marathon and 46 participants in the Nashville marathon. These runners came together to help raise support and awareness for the work of Mercy Ministries.

All of the runners gathered the night before each the races in the St. Louis and Nashville homes for a pre-race pasta party. Everyone got to hear a personal testimony from a current resident, and then several runners shared about what inspires them to run for Mercy. Allison, who flew from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas to participate in the St. Louis marathon told about how deeply she has been impacted by the Ministry and that she shares the vision of Mercy with everyone on her college campus.

James Gaines, another St. Louis marathon participant, said, “Team Mercy is by far the best team I have ever run with. I have run competitively since the 6th grade, but this is the first time I had a purpose bigger than myself. The night before the race we went up to the Mercy house for a pasta party. Each girl wrote us a letter of encouragement, and that’s when it hit me – I was running for a cause. So that night I put that letter in my shoes. And every step I took, it made me think of the Mercy girls and how their lives are being changed through being able to get the help they need, free of charge.” James literally placed the letter from Susanna in a plastic bag, placed it in his shoe and ran with it in his shoe the entire race!

Team Mercy in Nashville

This year, the marathon participants in Nashville and St. Louis raised a total of $30,000! As a way to say thank you for their support, participants received a ‘race-day bag’ that included a copy of Nancy’s book of testimonies, Mercy Moves Mountains, a Mercy bracelet, a pair of Under-Armour running socks, a Run for Mercy shirt, a Mercy monogrammed face towel, a personal note of encouragement from a current resident and a Mercy Magazine.

On the day of the races, residents from the Nashville and St. Louis homes attended the marathons and cheered the runners on. One of the Nashville residents, Michaela, said, “It was awesome to meet the runners who were raising money and running to support all of us girls here at Mercy! We are all in this race together, and I know God is cheering us on the whole way through!”

For more information about running for Mercy, check out our website at www.runformercy.org.

BREAKING NEWS

As of today, we have decided to invite the following to the Point of Grace concert at the Nashville Mercy Ministries home:

-Any individual that raises $1000 or more (and you can invite 3 friends!)

-Any group that raises $1500 or more

We are eleven days away from Race Day…go team go!!!

Omega Alpha Phi Supports Run for Mercy

Omega Alpha Phi, a Greek social service club at Lee University in Cleveland, TN, has been in a small partnership with Mercy Ministries for about 8 years. They annually host a benefit formal called Snowball; a very classy and elegant event. There is a formal dinner, valet parking, jazz band during dinner and they end the night with a DJ and dancing. This event is held at the Fairyland Club on Lookout Mountain and all the proceeds go directly to Mercy Ministries.

This year the President of Omega, Renee List wanted to be a little more involved with Mercy Ministries, so when she heard about Run for Mercy, she thought this would be perfect! She planned 2 car washes and advertised them all over campus. Since the weather has been perfect for a car wash, she felt it would be an easy and fun way to raise some quick money!

Omega Alpha Phi is also planning on going to the dorms and knocking on the doors asking for donations. The club has about 40 members, and plans to divide the dorms and conquer!

Renee List said, "I'm always really surprised with how much we can raise just by going door to door. Students will give their laundry money or whatever spear change they have, and it adds up fast!"

Thank you Omega Alpha Phi for your support of Run for Mercy!

Special Announcement for Nashville Run for Mercy

There are big things in store for whoever raises the most money for the Nashville Run for Mercy!

Dove Award winning artists and long-time Mercy Ministries supporters, Point of Grace (http://www.pointofgrace.net/) have agreed to perform a mini-concert for at the Nashville home for the team that raises the most money for this year’s Nashville Run for Mercy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get see these amazing artists perform, just for you!

Christian music artist, Jaime Jamgochian (http://www.jaimejam.com/), has also committed to going to lunch with the individual that raises the most money for Nashville Run for Mercy. Jaime Jamgochian is also the host of the “Modest is Hottest” conferences that stress the importance of modesty for our young girls today.

These are amazing incentives for all of our teams and individuals to get out there and show your support for Mercy Ministries by raising money to help us continue to provide the free-of-charge care that the girls in our home so desperately need.

GO TEAMS!!

FREE Breakfast Tomorrow!

Mercy Ministries will be holding a FREE Run for Mercy breakfast at the Corporate Office (1^st Floor Conference Room) from 8:30-9:30am on Saturday, February 28, 2009.

Puffy Muffin will be donating a platter of pastries and Publix will be donating fruit and orange juice. This breakfast is for ANYONE who is interested in running or walking for Team Mercy or becoming a business sponsor. It will be a great chance for people on the team to get to know each other.

Gina, the Event Chair, will be there to talk about group runs that she is organizing…and we would like to talk to everyone about the new website.

Come back to the blog to see live updates from the breakfast via Twitter!

If you have questions, please contact nashville@mercyministries.com.
For directions, click here.

The new RunforMercy.org is LIVE!

Mercy Ministries has just launched the new and improved RunForMercy.org. This site will allow all of our supporters to see what marathons or 5K runs or walks Mercy Ministries is participating in.

There are many new features to this site, including:

• Online registration for individuals or teams
• List of the top teams in your area
• List of the top runners/walkers in your area
• Tribute Book
• Much, much more

When you sign up as a runner/walker, you can set up your very own "mini" site where your friends and family can see how you're doing with the new Thermometer feature. You can also use your "mini" site to talk about how you became involved with Mercy Ministries and why others should show their support for you.

This is an amazing site and we look forward to you joining us as we all Run for Mercy!