Can you help me with these two problems in this sentence?

**When I learnt that it could help raise money for stray animals, I made up my mind *like the other almost 50 participants.***


1) Doesn't **as well as** sound more appropriate than **like** here?
2) I can get what the author meant by **the other almost 50 participants** but it really looks weard to me. Is everything OK with this phrase?