Waves of Wellness Foundation (WOW) is launching a plank challenge in June to make noise about mental health and start conversations.
The Australian charity has been changing lives through surf therapy support programs that address mental health and wellbeing since 2016.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, nine Australians die every day by suicide, more than double the road toll, and over 65,000 Australians make a suicide attempt each year.
The plank challenge, ‘Plank Up The Volume’, begins on 1 June. For nine consecutive days, participants will plank for nine minutes to represent the nine lives that are taken by suicide daily. The nine minutes of planking can be broken down into shorter increments.
The aim is to stop, hold some space, and reach your daily goal. In raising money for WOW, participants are helping to save lives through their life-changing surf therapy programs.
For CEO Joel Pilgrim, the plank challenge is about holding space for mental health and encouraging transparent conversations.
‘Suicide is the leading cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 49, and for each life lost to suicide, the impacts are felt by up to 135 people including family members, work colleagues, friends, and first responder,’ Mr Pilgrim said.
‘A plank challenge is fitting as planking is something we refer to when learning to surf. We use our core stability when planking to protect the spine, and this challenge is a reminder that we also need to work on our mental fitness to protect the mind.’
Plank Up the Volume is an accessible challenge for people of all ages in all locations, open to both individual and team fundraisers.
To date, WOW has directly impacted over 1,532 lives through their surf therapy programs, providing people with the skills and strategies to manage their mental health and wellbeing, and through this challenge, they hope to impact many more.
WOW currently operates in 6 locations across 3 states, with plans to expand into more areas to help more people in more communities.
Individuals and teams can get involved. To sign up for the challenge visit: www.plank-up-the-volume.raisely.com