By Natalee Kerr
A group of Geelong students are set to embark on a 3400km charity ride across the Nullarbor this month to help Australian’s suffering mental illness.
Eleven Deakin University medical students, and a graphic designer, all aged in their 20s, will take off from Geelong on 27 November to begin their 16-day journey to Perth.
Jan Juc rider Max Steinfort said the group has raised more than $20,000 for not-for-profit mental health organisation Black Dog Institute since June.
“We’ve done raffles, bake sales, a movie night and even some of us had our legs waxed the other day to raise some funds,” the 24-year-old said.
“The support has been really good, everyone that hears about it is super keen to get involved.”
But Max said the funds were “only one aspect”, with raising awareness for mental health something “close” to the group’s hearts.
“A lot of us have our own personal stories with mental health issues and we’ve seen how it can affect friends and family,” he said.
“It has been very eye-opening to hear some of the stories from the group.
“The money is one thing, but it’s more about continuing that conversation…we really want to normalise speaking up about mental health.
The “inexperienced” rider, who grew up in Newtown, described the preparation for the ride as a “mammoth task”.
“I was pretty hopeless when I first got on the bike,” he said.
“There were three or four of us that didn’t have much riding experience at all, but everyone has come a long way since we started.
“I think the biggest challenge for us is that it’s going to be quite hot, and we’ve heard it’s pretty hard to get water on the Nullarbor.”
To donate to visit teamblackdog.everydayhero.com/au/crossin-the-bor.
