A 240-Mile Promise

Alex Sheen portrait in front of house

Two days after Cleveland survivors Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were discovered after being held captive for over a decade, 28-year-old Alex Sheen made a promise: He would dedicate 10 days of his life to acts of kindness in honor of the survivors’ perseverance. He volunteered to walk 240 miles across the state of Ohio in 10 days to raise awareness and funds for survivors of sexual violence. He calls his promise #NeverEnough.

Sheen is a man of his word. On Tuesday, June 25th, he completed his journey, ending at the location where Berry, DeJesus and Knight were imprisoned. He was warmly received and joined by more than 100 supporters: members of RAINN’s Speaker Bureau, caring strangers and friends and family. Gina's mother, Nancy Ruiz, was waiting in front of the house to greet Alex. Cleveland Police Cmdr. Keith Sulzer was there to give Sheen a medal as a token of appreciation (Sulzer was heavily involved for in the search for the girls).

The funds Sheen raised which will be split between RAINN and the Cleveland Courage Fund, a foundation established to directly benefit the kidnapping survivors.

Upon arriving at the house Alex stated, “There’s a quote that I think about almost everyday, ‘You can pretend to care, but you can’t pretend to show up.’ I thank everybody here for taking time out of your day to show up for Amanda, Gina and Michelle.”

Although Alex’s walk is over, you can still help by donating $10 to RAINN to help one survivor, or by filling out a promise card and sharing it through social media using the hashtag #NeverEnough.

To learn more about Sheen’s #NeverEnough campaign and to see media coverage of the initiative, please visit rainn.org/NeverEnough.

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