
From February 11 to 28, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is challenging you, your friends, and your family to complete 2,000 push-ups for mental health, and to raise money for CMHA local, regional, and national programs.
“What happens is, some people have signed up to be the people doing the push-ups — I call them our champions,” explained Rebecca Rackow, assistant executive director of CMHA Saskatchewan.
“They can champion a specific CMHA branch. So, some people are doing that for our national office, for branches all over the country, and for divisions and regions all over the country. … If you go to The Push-Up Challenge website, you can look up the CMHA branch near you, maybe Moose Jaw branch, for example, and you can select them and donate in their name. And that money will go directly to that branch or division.”
Rackow said the fundraiser is the biggest annual source of funding for the CMHA both nationally and locally. Donations over a certain amount will receive a tax receipt from the CMHA National Office.
The website to participate is www.thepushupchallenge.ca, which has everything from Frequently Asked Questions to guidelines for solo, team, workplace, or community participations, mental health facts, and a daily workout reminder with advice for completing the challenge.
There’s even an app, available for both Apple and Android devices.
The website also notes that:
If push-ups aren’t your thing, you can still participate. Substitute push-ups with alternative exercises, like sit-ups, squats, jumping jacks – anything goes. You can also choose to aim for 50% of the push-up target and smash out 1,000 push-ups instead of 2,000.
“The entire federation has come together to do this, all at once, for a fundraising opportunity,” Rackow said. “That’s unusual, there’s close to 300 branches across the nation, so it’s kind of great that we’re doing this as a big team.
“But it also raises awareness for the positive effects of taking care of your physical self, taking care of your mental self. The number, 2,000 push-ups, is to mirror the number of people globally who take their own lives each day.”
Rackow added that anyone who is struggling with their mental health, especially if they are at the point of considering suicide, or if you know someone who is thinking about suicide:
“Please call 988. There’s help on the other side of those phone calls, it’s local help, and they’ll talk you through getting help for yourself or someone you care about.
“It’s important to take care of each other out there.”
Find out more about your Moose Jaw CMHA branch at moosejaw.cmha.ca.
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