Meaningful Moments

Your fundraising moment is enabling Black Dog Institute to improve the lives of people impacted by mental illness. We want to celebrate this meaningful moment! You are a part of our inspiring community of fundraisers helping to create a mentally healthier world for everyone. Why is fundraising for mental health important to you?

Darren McIntosh

My cousin committed suicide some 15 years ago, I've lost friends to suicide and mentalhealth and I've struggled with my own demons for some 30 odd years. I'm currently committed to painting in the name of Damo for the next 8 months. Creating abstract and original art to raise funds and awareness. I'd love to break the stigma around this debilitating disease.

Rochelle

I am an ultramarathon runner and will be running 100 marathons in 100 days on the roads of rural NSW between April 1 and July 10, 2023. The motivation for this endeavour comes from the loss of a close friend to suicide from undiagnosed depression in 2020. In NSW, suicide has become one of the leading causes of death for men in regional areas. According to Black Dog Institute research, 65% of Australians suffering with a mental health condition never reach out for help; my aim is to encourage people to make that call for help when they need it, and to promote the services available for support and care. Running 100 marathons in 100 days will entail 4,220 kilometres on the roads around the ACT and Riverina regions, wearing through 10 pairs of running shoes, and reaching out to regional schools and community groups to start vital discussions about mental health along the way.

PJ - Mural Nomad

My name’s PJ and I’m a full time artist, specialising in murals. Last June I left Brisbane and hit the road with my husband and dog in our self converted van. Surprisingly, I got more jobs while on the move than in the city. By the time we reached Darwin, it was obvious I have it figured out and I could continue painting murals for a living anywhere we went. Here in the NT I got contacted by a lovely nurse from the mental ward of the Darwin Royal hospital. They were wondering if I could do a low budget small mural for the white wall facing their windows, overlooking the garden families were gathering together during visiting hours.. During the site inspection I realise how much heart and hard work went into making that part of the hospital welcoming: the garden had mosaics and handmade signs, fruits & vegetable were thriving in every corner. I felt really inspired and touched, so much so I decided to paint the whole side of the building as a donation. During my time working on site many staff members would come out to let me know how my presence and the mural process was sparking unusual positive behaviour amongst the patients. They were excited about the progress and talk about it with each other, engage socially and have something to look forward to each morning. This was my moment. I instantly wished I could do more impactful work like this. I rebranded to Mural Nomad and I started supporting Black Dog Institute while publicly committing to what is a marathon in my industry. 100 colourful murals to brighten up Australia, bringing joy to anyone seeing them.. Starting a conversation about mental health and donating to mental health research to hopefully make a change, together.

Connor - Candy Warhol's Colouring Cans

After 2 major lockdowns and a global pandemic, I think it's important more now than ever to be aware of each other's mental health and how some may be struggling more than others. I know that I feel better when I’m drawing and then I found some research that backed up why that might be. It’s proven to reduce anxiety and depression; and also send us to bed a little happier and help us sleep a little better. Maybe through my books I have combined something that thousands of us enjoy (Breweries) with something that’s really good for our heads. We can appreciate cans and the memories they spark, while unclogging our heads. The Black Dog Institute is dedicated to researching mental health for all ages and do an exceptional job at providing people with the tools to deal with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. We are aligned. They’ve also been super supportive from the beginning. Everyone’s got their own ways of dealing with it, If one person benefits from my book, it’s music to my ears.

Shane Hafner

My name is Shane Hafner. My friend Cameron and I have been police officers for over 20 years. During that time we have been exposed to incidents that have adversely affected our mental health resulting in a diagnosis of PTSD, thus impacting on our ability to do the job we have loved for so many years. Cameron and I have both developed a love of lawn bowls throughout our road to recovery. To say this has had a positive impact on our mental health is an understatement. The friendly and welcoming environment of the bowls clubs and its members has been integral to our emotional and psychological wellbeing. Participating in the sport allows us to be outdoors, amongst friends and even if only for a short while, free our minds from thoughts associated with work related trauma incidents. Cameron and I had a shared dream of raising awareness not only for mental wellness, but also the benefits of lawn bowls and thus ‘Bowl For Your Lives’ was born. ‘BFYL' aims to raise much needed funds for mental health research, at the same time educating the community about this amazing sport and the sense of belonging it inspires. We created our own Facebook page for 'BFYL' and this has assisted us in sharing mental health awareness and raise important funds for Black Dog Institute to continue their important work. We have teamed up with The Black Dog Institute as our chosen recipient of the proceeds of our fundraising efforts, so far we have raised a tremendous $14,000 towards much needed mental health research. We are currently arranging two awn bowls tournaments to raise further funds for Black Dog Institute, whilst promoting a sport that we love and want to strongly encourage others into as we believe it is a great outdoor sport with beneficial opportunities for those impacted by mental health. I am a strong advocate of encouraging mental health awareness and during my time of being impacted by PTSD in 2011 and again in 2022, I have become a keen walker. This is due to the known fact that exercise of any level is hugely beneficial to those impacted by mental health. That's why this year I have committed to walking 2023 kms in 2023. My aim is to encourage others that being active, to whatever level is able to be done by any individual does help.

Callan Coleman

I wanted to do something different, this led me to creating a 20km walk from Stratford to Briagolong - raising more than $11,000 for the Black Dog Institute. Mental health is so important, in the last 12 months all this stuff has happened [in my community]. It affects everyone which is why I picked mental health. More than 100 people joined for the walk and we had roughly 20 volunteers who helped on the day. I am planning on organising an even bigger and better walk for mental health in 2023, with a larger fundraising goal.

Chris Bushell

I supported of Scott and Pat as they cycled from Perth to Sydney to raise awareness of both the Black Dog Institute and mental health issues. It became apparent as we crossed the country the enormity the impact mental health issues have on individuals from all walks of life.

Terrorconn Gaming

Having lost a few friends and family, and having seen friends, family and myself go through mental health challenges I've tried to do everything I can to understand it more and help others understand it more as well, to best put myself in a position to not only help myself in those challenges but to help others through them too. The majority of my community know how I feel about this cause and have similar stories to my own when it comes to mental health. We've rallied together to show support of the Black Dog Institute and to do our part to help others understand and get the tools and support needed to fight the good fight!

Jeremy Gordon

The Workout for Men's Mental Health started as a challenge but has grown into something special. My hope is that one day in the future we won't need to do this workout to advocate awareness, as people will feel safe and supported by those people around them to be able to get help for whatever it is they are struggling with. That's my dream.

Stephen Bailey

Mental health (and its treatment) is important to me because I have seen firsthand the destruction that mental health problems have on not only on individuals but also on the people that support and love them! This includes members of my own family and friends.

Meaningful moments