LAP it UP is a fitness and fundraising challenge to swim laps for youth mental health awareness and suicide prevention in rural and regional communities. How many laps did we swim in 11 days? An astonishing 25,028 laps. That’s 625 kilometres!

Midland Express: LAP it UP has made a splash for Youth Live4Life raising $38,926. The fitness and fundraising challenge encourages people to swim laps for youth mental health awareness and suicide prevention in rural and regional communities. This year’s event on November 20 saw an incredible 25,028 laps made – that’s 625 kilometres!

Star Weekly: Mental health was one of the biggest personal challenges faced by 27 per cent of Victoria’s young people in the last year and Woodend-based mental health charity Youth Live4Life deals with the issue locally. Released this week, Mission Australia Youth Survey 2022 collated the responses of 5097 young people …

Star Weekly: A Woodend charity has raised nearly $40,000 by challenging people to swim laps for youth mental health awareness and suicide prevention in regional and rural communities. Running from November 10 to 20, and the organisation said it was “blown out of the water” by how much was raised, and thanked participants for being involved.

Hamilton Spectator: Year 8 students from across the region gathered at the Hamilton Indoor Leisure and Aquatic Centre on November 11 to celebrate the Southern Grampians’ first ever Live4Life celebration event.

Australian Broker: ANZ, through its Community Foundation, has granted $389,450 to 19 charitable organisations that are delivering projects to improve financial wellbeing, housing, and environmental sustainability.

The $20,000 grant will go towards delivery of suicide prevention and mental health education in Ballarat. ANZ today announced it has granted $389,450 through its Community Foundation, to 19 charitable organisations that are delivering projects to improve financial wellbeing, housing and environmental sustainability.

Portland Observer: Young people from across the Glenelg Shire have come together to celebrate mental health as part of a series of events facilitated through Live4Life Glenelg. Live4Life Glenelg crews in Heywood, Casterton and Portland recently participated in Mental Health Promotional Days held at their respective townships and schools.

Star Weekly: Kyle Hayes from Sunbury said it was humbling to be named a finalist in the 2022 YACVic Rural Youth Awards. He was nominated in the category of Youth Worker Making a Difference for his work with Woodend-based youth mental health charity Youth Live4Life. “I am really proud of the achievement,” he said.

On November 19th, Macedon Ranges locals John Crozier, Jarrod McQuade and Lucas Paladino will be shaving off their long (not so luscious) dreadlocks! ‍One night the boys joked about shaving their dreads together. A month later, they are planning an event to raise money for Youth Live4Life with a goal of $20,000!!

Midland Express: In 2018, father and daughter team , Sean and Kirsten McKinney, hosted an event at their local Gisborne pool with the aim to run a continual relay and swim 2866 laps (2866 being the number of Australians that suicided in 2016).

Star Weekly: After two years of lockdown, Woodend-based Youth Live4Life is continuing the McKinney’s legacy, running LAP it UP from November 10 to 20 to raise funds for the organisation’s Live4Life initiative. Youth Live4Life chief executive Bernard Galbally said swimming was a “fantastic” exercise for the cause.

The Ballarat Times: The money for BSPN will go towards introducing the Live4Life youth mental health five-year program, which chair Des Hudson said will be an exciting opportunity for the city. “This will be the largest community that the Live 4 Life team have looked at building a community network of support,” he said.

How many laps can you swim in 11 days? Join us for LAP it UP – Youth Live4Life's fitness and fundraising challenge to swim laps for youth mental health awareness and suicide prevention in rural & regional communities.

CREW CAMP 2022 was a blast! Overcoming nerves on the giant swing, taking part in media training for storytelling, learning about leadership and kindness, archery, dance battles with Movement Zone Dance Studio.

Live4Life Glenelg is running two training courses in Portland in November and December 2022. Completion awards your certificate of Youth Mental Health First Aid. Find out more or register …

Benalla Rural City has been recognised as a Mental Health First Aid Champion Community. Since implementing Live4Life in 2017, Benalla Rural City has trained over 1000 teens and 165 adults to recognise and respond to the signs of developing, worsening or crisis level mental health problems in young people.

The Ballarat Times: FRIENDS of India Network’s 2022 charity cricket match and black-tie gala dinner have been successful in raising funds for the Ballarat and District Suicide Prevention Network. The FIN community and their guests generated $75,000 this year which will benefit Ballarat Youth Services-led mental health program Live4Life, expected to reach 20,000 young people in schools over five years.

The Portland Observer: Youth Mental Health First Aid training is returning this August … The training is delivered through award-winning youth based mental health initiative Live4Life Glenelg.

The Financial Standard: Future Generation is on a mission to accelerate funding into the prevention of youth mental health issues, warning that Australia's current funding of mental healthcare is "not working". Comprising of 14 non-for-profit partners, the social investment strategy aims to counter the alarming rise in the rates of ill mental health, self-harm and suicide among young people, despite a steady increase in government expenditure on mental healthcare services.