OXFORD, Miss. – On Thursday, April 8, a group of Ole Miss students will host Run to Rescue, a 5K run/walk event, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Grove in order to raise awareness about modern-day slavery. All proceeds collected at the event support the International Justice Mission, a human rights agency that aims to rescue victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression.
The event is part of the End It movement, a campaign organized to fight human trafficking. According to the International Justice Mission, a human rights agency founded in 1997, there are nearly 27 million men, women and children involved in human trafficking around the world. Lucus Jackson, a Senatobia native who graduated from Ole Miss in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, is coordinating the event.
“We wanted to raise awareness about forced labor and sex slavery that still happens around the world today,” said Jackson, who works as an intern in the Baptist Student Union. “It’s our desire to bring the movement to Ole Miss and Oxford with the same mission.”
The entry fee for the event is $20, which includes a t-shirt and race packet. For more information or to sign up for the Run to Rescue, visit their website.