After raising more than $11,000 for the Black Dog Institute by walking 20 kilometres from Stratford to Briagolong last year, Cal Coleman aims to double his fundraising efforts in 2023, setting himself a target of $20,000.
At the start of 2022, Callan Coleman said to himself, “I want to do something different”; he wanted to venture outside the limitations of his comfort zone. This venture would lead him on a 20km walk from Stratford to Briagolong, raising more than $11,000 for the Black Dog Institute.
“I was going to do the run for kids, but a walk, and then COVID was still happening, so I wasn’t sure if it was going to get canned or not,” Cal said.
“Then I was going to do a pub crawl from Stratty Pub to Briag Pub, just on my own; I told a bloke at work what I wanted to do, and he asked what for; I said just for something different, and he said, ‘why don’t you do it for mental health?’
“So I contacted the Black Dog Institute, and it just snowballed from there; it was just awesome.”
Cal received an Australia Day award in recognition and honour of his outstanding achievement, raising more than $11,000 for mental health walking 20km from Stratford to Briagolong.
Cal only intended the event to be a one-off, but following a flood of encouraging feedback, quickly changed his mind and set a date for his 2023 Walk & Talk For Mental Health – Saturday, May 13.
“Straight after that day, people were saying, ‘I’m looking forward to next year’,” Cal said.
“I put up a post on Facebook in January about doing it again this year and all the volunteers [from last year] messaged me straight away, and all these other people messaged me, wanting to help out.”
With sights set on doubling last year’s total raised, Cal has made his bigger and better plans for Walk & Talk For Mental Health 2023 a reality.
Not only will there be a 20km walk from Stratford to Briagolong, with drink stations every five kilometres and shuttle busses so you can walk as far or as little as you would like, from 12pm at the Briagolong Recreation Reserve (the walk finish line), there will be food trucks, a sausage sizzle, drinks, live music, a jumping castle, raffle draw, face painting and more.
Cal has gone all out for this year’s fundraiser, collating an extensive raffle prize collection from local businesses and even starting his own Team Cal merch, with all proceeds going to the Black Dog Institute.
There were more than 2000 individual fundraisers hosted for the Black Dog Institute in 2022, including the one organised by Cal Coleman, with all money raised supporting Black Dog Institute’s mental health research, education programs and support services.
Black Dog Institute is the only medical research institute in Australia to investigate mental health; they aim to create a mentally healthier world for everyone.
A $50 donation to the Black Dog Institute can help facilitate a community webinar on the signs and symptoms of mental illness, $100 can educate health professionals on the latest research and clinical evidence, and $500 can empower young people to manage their mental health by training one youth presenter to deliver high school education programs.
With $15,000, the Black Dog Institute can better equip students, teachers, parents and carers to manage their mental health and wellbeing by educating 2400 young people and their families.
Walk & Talk For Mental Health will begin at 8am. The 20km journey commences at Pine Lodge in Stratford and concludes at Briagolong Recreation Reserve.
Those wishing to join the 20km walk from Pine Lodge must arrive by 7.30am.
Participants are required to pay a $20 entry fee (a donation to the Black Dog Institute) and register to join the walk, which can be done through the link at teamblackdog.org.au/fundraisers/CallanColeman
