Greg Ziegler didn’t realise youth suicide was such a big issue until his young colleague passed away. Shocked and determined to do something about it, Greg joined team ReachOut and Race with a plan to rack up nearly 400km and raise $15,000 for ReachOut along the way.
“I never really thought about youth mental health until the suicide death of a young male colleague,” says Greg. “I decided to do this so that others don’t slip under the radar too.
“We wished he had reached out, so to speak, and that’s why I chose ReachOut.”
As a dad with twin 15-year-old boys and a 10-year-old girl, Greg wants every young person to know that there’s help out there when they need it.
“After it happened, I had a good open chat to my kids about it. I told them if you don’t feel comfortable talking to us, you’ve got family, friends, teachers – talk to whoever you feel comfortable with.
“You’ve got such a future ahead as a young person that nothing could ever be so bad that you should consider harming yourself.”
Greg’s family, business and community all rallied together to help him reach his fundraising goal.
“The local paper did a story. When that came out there was a surge of donations.
“I’ve gotta be honest, social media has been quite strong. A powerful weapon if you use it right.
“Doing the events themselves helps it along too. I think delivering on what you said you would is quite important. It makes people believe in you.”
After hitting his $10,000 goal early on, Greg chose to step up his challenge by a huge 50 per cent.
“Someone said the other day, ‘You’ve reached your target – you can stop now!’
“No way, that’s not how it works. I’m now hoping to get to $15,000.”
Greg’s final event will be his biggest: Melbourne’s gruelling 226km-long Ironman Asia–Pacific Championship on Sunday, 22 March.
“I don’t care if it takes me 12, 16 or 17 hours. It doesn’t really matter. I’ve kept a black armband on my forearm and his name on my hand. That keeps me motivated to finish.
“I’m doing it for him, in his memory, and for his family. That’s the most important thing.”
You can help Greg over the finish line with a tweet to @GregZiegler, or donate to help him meet his fundraising goal.
Need to talk to someone right now?
National 24/7 crisis phone services include Lifeline 13 11 14, Suicide Callback Service 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
Young people can turn to ReachOut from anywhere and at any time.
“I never really thought about youth mental health until the suicide death of a young male colleague,” says Greg. “I decided to do this so that others don’t slip under the radar too.
“We wished he had reached out, so to speak, and that’s why I chose ReachOut.”
As a dad with twin 15-year-old boys and a 10-year-old girl, Greg wants every young person to know that there’s help out there when they need it.
“After it happened, I had a good open chat to my kids about it. I told them if you don’t feel comfortable talking to us, you’ve got family, friends, teachers – talk to whoever you feel comfortable with.
“You’ve got such a future ahead as a young person that nothing could ever be so bad that you should consider harming yourself.”
Greg’s family, business and community all rallied together to help him reach his fundraising goal.
“The local paper did a story. When that came out there was a surge of donations.
“I’ve gotta be honest, social media has been quite strong. A powerful weapon if you use it right.
“Doing the events themselves helps it along too. I think delivering on what you said you would is quite important. It makes people believe in you.”
After hitting his $10,000 goal early on, Greg chose to step up his challenge by a huge 50 per cent.
“Someone said the other day, ‘You’ve reached your target – you can stop now!’
“No way, that’s not how it works. I’m now hoping to get to $15,000.”
Greg’s final event will be his biggest: Melbourne’s gruelling 226km-long Ironman Asia–Pacific Championship on Sunday, 22 March.
“I don’t care if it takes me 12, 16 or 17 hours. It doesn’t really matter. I’ve kept a black armband on my forearm and his name on my hand. That keeps me motivated to finish.
“I’m doing it for him, in his memory, and for his family. That’s the most important thing.”
You can help Greg over the finish line with a tweet to @GregZiegler, or donate to help him meet his fundraising goal.
Need to talk to someone right now?
National 24/7 crisis phone services include Lifeline 13 11 14, Suicide Callback Service 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
Young people can turn to ReachOut from anywhere and at any time.
