Team Lily - PukaUp

As some of you might know, last year we lost my mom to suicide. It was a devastating and incredibly hard-to-digest news.... there hasn't been a day that goes by without us thinking of her and remembering the smiles she brought to everyone that dealt with her. 

As hard as it's been, talking about what happened and sharing our pain with all of our friends, family and colleagues has made a HUGE difference to us. For this reason, we created TEAM LILY in 2018 - A group of people aiming to run the Melbourne Marathon Festival  to raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. 

After an overwhelming support, we received over 140 donations and fund raised over $15,000 that were donated to the RUOK? foundation. Not only did we raise money, but most importantly, in this process, we started hundreds of conversations around the importance of reaching for help if one is struggling with mental health. 

This year, TEAM LILY has partnered with PUKAUP - A social enterprise founded by one of Australia’s leading mental health advocates, Wayne Schwass, and would like to invite everyone to join our team, be a part of the Melbourne Marathon and help us raise awareness about mental health.  

The funds raised through this campaign, will help PukaUp launch their next Podcast Series ‘Life Changing Conversations’ which will include stories from everyday Australians. These conversations will help create environments for every person to be able to talk openly and honestly about mental health, emotional wellbeing and importantly suicide prevention without fear or judgement. We believe, these important conversations will save lives.

If you would like to help us, you can:

1. Donate to this cause
2. Sign up to any of the Melbourne Marathon events (http://melbournemarathon.com.au/ , and select 'Team Lily (Sanchez)' as your team).  AND
3. Start authentic and genuine conversations with your loved ones about mental health and emotional well-being. 

THANK YOU! 

Juan and Emma