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#WALK4PAWS #MentalHealthMarch
Vaughan McVilly is on a life-changing mission with his inspiring pooch, Gilly. They want you to sign up and join them in changing the state of mental and physical health in Australia for two-legged and four-legged friends and family!
Like so many people, Vaughan has been through his own battle with mental health. A failed business, which made him feel like he let down his family and his partner, led him to a dark place and the road back was long, hard and very lonely.
However, that same road led this Sydney man to many amazing humans, beautiful stories and a special girl named Gilly – named after his late father – who helped guide him back. The nine-month-old Border Collie brings the father of two so much joy and fulfilment each day.
“Gilly and I walk every day and love to learn new things together,” says Vaughan. “Gilly shows unconditional love and provides me with a higher sense of purpose. She relies on me for physical and mental stimulus as well as food, and I depend on her for mental and physical motivation and licks!”
Today, Vaughan is a passionate advocate for improving mental health and co-founded the WALK4PAWS Mental Health March Dog Walking Challenge and is a board member of the Mental Wheels Foundation (MWF) charity, focused on changing lives by improving mental health in Australia.
According to Lifeline, nine Australians die every day by suicide and more than 65,000 make a suicide attempt each year.
“Awareness of mental health issues is now high but there is still a gap in developing real, life-changing programs and initiatives,” says Vaughan.
“Mental health awareness campaigns have been doing a great job and making us aware of problems, but after someone asks ARE U OK and the person says NO, what do you do next? “MWF raises funds to support research and organisations, like MindSpot, that will make sure that there is something you can offer after someone say I am not ok.”
Vaughan McVilly with his inspiring pooch, Gilly.
This March, Mental Wheels Foundation is running its first annual WALK4PAWS Mental Health March Dog Walking Challenge, which aims to inspire two and four-legged friends and family to combat mental and physical health adversities faced by Australians.
Walk4Paws aims to have 10,000 people and their dogs walking by the end of March, plus raise $1 million for mental health research and programs to make a real positive impact on mental health in Australia, says Gareth Pike, co-founder of MWF.
“Research shows that walking improves physical fitness – reducing obesity – and mental health in both people and their pets,” he says.
“Our main goal is to take 1,000 dogs from animal shelters and, in partnership with MindDog, train them to be service dogs and paired with a person suffering from mental health adversities in a 12-month program that delivers amazing results!”
MindDog psychiatric assistance dogs help people with mental health disorders, whose lives are often severely compromised by anxiety and fear, to travel on public transport, access public places and take part in social activities which have been closed off to them.
In addition, MWF has teamed up with MQ Health (a research division of Macquarie University) to fund and run its own clinical trial cohorts that deliver meaningful data on mental health and wellbeing.
WALK4PAWS Mental Health Dog Walking Challenge – credit Brady Wakely
WALK4PAWS Mental Health March Dog Walking Challenge is a mental health challenge that aims to inspire Australians to walk their dogs in the month of March. You can start on any day and entry is FREE!
How It Works
Sign up here https://walk-4-paws.raisely.com For more information, contact hey@walk4paws.com.au
Sunday, 27th March 2022
The record currently stands at 710. The goal is to gather 1,000 dogs in a photo shoot at an iconic Sydney location.
30th March 2022
The record currently stands at 38. MWF Ambassador Jo McVilly, co-owner of Iron Bark Dog Park in Boonah QLD, aims to walk 45 dogs.
Month of March
MWF Ambassadors will take over Walk4Paws Instagram and go live for a 30 min talk. Participants will be able to go for a walk with their dogs and listen in and (if they like) interact with ambassadors, including mental health professionals, dog trainers, and meditation teachers, to name a few.
For updates, visit https://walk-4-paws.raisely.com/events
Mental Wheels Foundation aims to change lives by improving mental health in Australia. Their mission is to understand why and how to improve mental health through research, support the community through accessible clinical programs and Mental Wheel of Life workshops, and assist individuals with Foundation Scholarships.
To discover much more, visit www.mentalwheelsfoundation.org
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