22 June 2021

Staff and students at Catholic Regional College, St Albans, are exercising for an important cause.

Taking part in the Push-up Challenge, students and staff have been doing push-ups at lunchtime to raise funds and awareness for men’s health. They initially set a target of just over 3000 push-ups, but have completed almost 20,000 and are well on the way to reaching their $1000 fundraising target. Although the college is raising money for headspace, the conversations around the challenge have been the biggest benefit.

‘It’s been a great way to engage and there’s always someone around asking why we’re doing it, and that leads to a conversation about men’s health’, said staff member Eileen Chalmers. ‘It’s been just the thing to beat the chill on these cold mornings.’ For staff member Mark Johnston, the challenge is a reminder of the need to keep having conversations. ‘As a veteran who grew up in an era of keeping problems to yourself, it is so important to teach the next generation that it is alright to talk’, he said. ‘Education is the key to breaking down barriers with regard to men’s health now and in the future.’

‘It’s not every day that you see staff members and students line up side-by-side on stage to push-up for a cause’, said staff member Damien Marshall, ‘but it certainly raised a lot of awareness and brought us closer as a community’.