THE Combined Rotary Clubs of Cairns held their inaugural Lift the Lid walk last Sunday, raising over $6000 for mental health research.
The 2.5 km walk commenced at the “Pirate Ship” at the northern end of Cairns Esplanade at 9.00 AM and followed the fun run loop.
The Lift the Lid Walk event is a national initiative used to raise awareness on mental illness across Australia, it gives communities in Australia an opportunity to come together and lift the lid on mental illness.
Event organiser Layne Gardiner said there were over 50 walkers who registered on Sunday morning for the walk.
“We are proud with the support of our major sponsors Worklink Cairns and Thrive, we have been able to raise over $6,500 to contribute towards mental health research in Australia,” he said.
“Now more than ever, we need to break down the stigma that continues to plague our society so that people are more comfortable to discuss and seek help for their mental health issues.
“All funds raised from the walk will be donated to the Australian Rotary Health and will go to support mental health research.”
Australian Rotary Health is one of the largest independent funders of mental health research within Australia.
The organisation started 40 years ago and provides funding towards research grants, fellowships and PhD scholarships focused on finding preventative and curative solutions for mental illness in young Australians.
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