A Running as One charity night at Tatura’s Middle Pub to raise funds for The Code 9 Foundation was a $7000 success ahead of the main event in full motion this week.
Running as One is an initiative of Shepparton paramedics Shaun Moore and Tayla Salisbury that has emergency services workers running or riding 280km over seven days from Monday, April 7.
The event passes through locations in the Hume 2 region they service in their work, from Yarrawonga to Shepparton, including Cobram, Numurkah, Murchison, Tatura, and everywhere in between.
On the final day, Sunday, April 13, the community is invited to run, walk or cycle alongside emergency services athletes on their last leg, from Mooroopna to Shepparton.
The $7000 was raised through ticket sales to the March 29 charity night, raffle tickets, a reverse raffle, a silent auction and a grand auction.
Goods, vouchers and hampers were donated for prizes by local businesses, with the owners of the Middle Pub providing a drink on arrival and canapés to everyone at the event.
The paramedics set out to raise $20,000 for The Code 9 Foundation.
They surpassed their goal before their feet, and tyres, even hit the bitumen, with the total sitting at $20,187 at the time of writing, on Sunday, the day before participants embarked on the epic physical element of the challenge.
The Code 9 Foundation is a not-for-profit charity started by a member of the police, which provides a place of support for current and veteran professional first responders and Triple Zero operators who live with PTSD, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions that result from their service to the community.
Mr Moore, who has been a paramedic for four years, said he believed emergency services workers had the worst mental health of anyone in the population, with their own wellbeing often pushed aside as they tend to others, which was his inspiration behind the idea for the event.
∎ To donate to Running as One, visit the fundraising page: https://tinyurl.com/22yhf3v6
∎ To stay updated, follow Running as One on Instagram here: instagram.com/runningasone