The Walk for Wellbeing has come to a close and the response by Sydney-siders (and a few others around Australia too) has been immense! All up 1,553km were walked over the four days to 8 August. Walkers were keen for the Ethical Partners Tatrai Giving Fund to donate $25.56 to batyr for every km walked. All up 74 groups of people pounded pavements including Ethical Partners staff, families, friends and clients, soccer teams, school groups and batyr board members! In fact so much walking was done the $15,000 giving cap was breached at sometime last Saturday morning! As a result, and given the pressure many people are under around Australia at the moment, the Giving Fund Managers have decided to double the cap and donate $30,000 to batyr.
batyr’s CEO, Nic Brown, said "We know that right now young people and adults alike are really struggling with their mental health. Unfortunately we continue to see demand on Mental Health services increase and more young people than ever have been presenting to emergency departments due to mental health issues. We need to go 'upstream' and work with people well before reaching crisis point and help educate on how to look after ourselves and each other as well as how to access help early for those that need it. This donation, and all those km's walked enables us to do that! For every $25 donated to batyr, one person has the opportunity to experience our programs and so this $30,000 donation means we will empower and educate over 1,000 people! Thanks for all of the support, it goes a long way at such an important time."
About batyr
batyr is a 'for purpose' preventative mental health organisation, created and driven by young people, for young people. We work in prevention and early intervention, focussing on hurdles such as stigma, low mental health literacy, and ill- equipped communities, which stop young people from seeking help and taking charge of their mental health. We train young people to share stories of mental ill-health at our school and university programs, drawing out the messages of hope, positivity and resilience. We work to create a positive cultural shift about how we talk about mental health, and empower people to take reach out for support when needed.