UNE staff flexed their muscles and their commitment to mental health by participating in Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event: The Push-Up Challenge.

Seventy staff members, including Vice-Chancellor Chris Moran, formed seven teams and together completed an impressive 123, 661 push-ups to raise $4,539 in support of mental health.

The event annually motivates hundreds of thousands of Australians to complete a set number of push-ups, symbolising the number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in the most recent year of available data. Alongside the physical challenge, participants gain valuable insights through daily mental health facts and have the opportunity to fundraise for a chosen mental health charity.

UNE’s commitment to the Challenge was echoed throughout NSW, with 64,171 participants completing over 83 million push-ups and raising over $3 million. Nationally, the effort was monumental, with over 312 million push-ups completed, resulting in $12,018,227 raised for mental health causes.

Congratulations to all the UNE participants for their incredible effort and dedication!