Firefighters, their friends and families will aim to take a million steps to raise money and awareness for PTSI, depression and suicide as the annual Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb returns this month.
For the second year in a row, the stair climb event will be undertaken virtually instead of being held at the Crown Metropol, challenging registered participants to rack up as many steps as they can over a month-long period.
The event kicked off on 10 September and will run for a month, finishing on World Mental Health Day on 10 October.
The stair climb goal is for participants to collectively complete one million steps for mental health, and event director and firefighter Trent Egan is encouraging every participant to climb at least 3046 steps throughout the month.
“That represents one step for each Australian who dies by suicide each year,” he said.
“The challenge is open to anyone in the community who wishes to participate.
“We know firefighters and their families and friends will put their best foot forward and take on the challenge to fight depression, PTSI and suicide.”
More than $2.5 million has been raised across a variety of charities since the first stair climb challenge in 2014.
With a goal of $500,000, funds for this year’s challenge will go towards Lifeline, Fortem Australia and 000 Foundation.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan has encouraged anyone across Victoria to sign up and get involved.
“Victorians have been through an incredibly challenging couple of years and it has been tough on the mental health of those in our communities, including emergency services personnel,” he said.
“The stair climb provides an outlet for exercise and friendly competition, and it raises funds to support mental health services.”
Participants are encouraged to share their workout progress on social media, by tagging #MFSCMillionSteps on their pictures and videos.
Registrations are open at https://www.firefighterclimb.org.au/ and will remain open throughout the month-long event.
| Submitted by |
CFA News & Media |