05-10-2023
This year, some members of staff and some councillors are participating in One Foot Forward, a fundraiser for mental health and suicide prevention organised by the Black Dog Institute.
Over the month of October, staff will be tallying up and recording how many kilometres they’ve walked while raising money for the cause.
CEO Alex Waldron, one of the participants, said the cause was aligned with some of the special days Council is supporting this year.
“This year Council has got behind RUOK Day and World Mental Health Day, and this is a very practical way to show our support and raise money,” she said.
“It’s free to register for One Foot Forward and you get to choose your own goal for how many kilometres you walk. You don’t have to do any extra exercise if you don’t want to, just measure what you’re doing, record it online and chase up sponsorships.”
Ms Waldron said that so far, eight separate work teams were taking part for Council with 27 already joined including the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Cr Nathan McDonald.
“We’ve raised almost $1,000 already and hope to raise a lot more. We’d also like to see other workplaces join for some friendly rivalry, or if anyone wants to walk with Council they are more than welcome to join us,” Ms Waldron said.
“With suicide the leading killer of people in Australia aged between 15 and 45, it needs a community response to show people who are doing it tough that we care, and One Foot Forward can be part of that.”
The below link takes you to the ULSC page, where you can choose from the eight Council teams available. In addition to some fun team building, seeing the number of people participating may also give comfort to those having a hard time and feeling alone.