A total of 45 walkers left Moree at 6am today and headed east to Pally as part of the One Foot Forward campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Black Dog Institute.
The group, up 50 percent in numbers compared to last year, met at the main gates of Weebolla rugby grounds with a collective goal in one goal in mind – to get to the Pally Pub for lunch.
Organiser Luke Woods said this year’s edition far exceeded expectations.
“Last year we raised $22,000 and I’m pretty confident we’ll top $50,000 this year,” Luke said.
The group is expected to arrive at Pallamallawa at around midday, where raffles and fundraising will take place.
The 30-kilometre walk first hit the bitumen in 2022, when 10 people walked and $10,000 was raised.
That figure was more than double last year when 30 walkers took to the Gwydir Highway and is likely to double again this weekend.
“I originally put a target on the fundraising page of $30,000 but had to raise that up a bit,” Luke said.
Figures supplied by the Black Dog Institute show one in five Australians experience a mental illness each year and nine people in Australia die by suicide every day.
The figures also show 50 per cent of people living with mental illness will not seek professional help.
The One Foot Forward campaign encourages people to get out and go for a walk, talk about mental health issues and raise money for the Black Dog Institute, a charity focused on helping those suffering from mental illnesses.
The campaign, established in 2020, has so far collectively logged 644,666 kilometres.
That’s nearly 43 laps around Australia – including Tasmania.
