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Fishhook was excited to work with Indianapolis-based FAME (Fellowship of Associates of Medical Evangelism) on a 40-Day/24-Hour Social Media Challenge to help them raise $40,000 in 40 days in honor of their 40th anniversary!

This unique challenge locked a captain and his/her crew (4-5 others) inside The Crate overnight to raise money for four critical medical projects in India, Haiti, Honduras and West Africa. Each team’s 24-hour goal was to raise at least $1,000, resulting in $40,000 plus raised by the end of the challenge. The Crate, set-up on FAME’s property, began October 1, 2010 and ran for 40 consecutive days, ending November 9, 2010.

The crate was a re-purposed sea shipping container donated by Good Global Structures, a Jacksonville, Florida based organization that provides high-quality, affordable building structures to be used as schools, clinics, churches or civic centers in villages and towns around the world. This rehabbed space had a door, windows, laminate floor, walls and was wired with electricity and wifi for the crew. Each year, FAME fills sea shipping containers just like this with donated medical supplies for their ministry partners in third-world countries.

The crews could only use social media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, FourSquare) and communication technology (Skype, cell phone calls, texting, digital photos and videos) to solicit donations from friends and family members.

"Everyone's on Facebook, so what better way to reach potential donors than by meeting them where they already are?" said Shane Whybrew, FAME's Director of Development. "If I have 500 friends, most of them have a few hundred friends and we can spread the word instantly. When someone is locked in The Crate, they Facebook, 'Hey! I'm locked in The Crate. Haiti needs your help building an out-patient clinic, so donate $50 and help me out!' and suddenly hundreds of people hear about what’s going on and may be motivated to donate.:

Donations raised through The Crate went towards the following FAME projects:

• Purchasing an ambulance for a mission in India
• Renovating an out-patient clinic in Haiti
• Sending a crate with medical supplies to Honduras
• Provide scholarship funds for students in Ghana, West Africa.