Campaign News
30 July 2020
Over 6 weeks from 6 June to 18 July, 1956 participants collectively climbed 227,829,050 steps and raised a total of $187,295 for caregivers of Persons with Mental Health Issues. Thank you for your participation and support!
Through the campaign, we sought to reduce stigma and raise awareness for mental illnesses and caregiving. We wanted to unite our caregiver community as well as our donors and supporters to engage in healthy physical activities regularly during the COVID19 period. Each time they engaged in those activities, we hope their mind will be directed towards a bigger purpose that goes beyond the daily grind of staying/working at home – Climb for Mental Wellness!
EVERYONE made it to Everest Base Camp! (Virtually)
It takes 85,301 steps to complete the 65 km hike to base camp. On average, each of the 1956 participants completed 116,114 steps! Yes! All 1956 participants crossed the finishing line! Special thanks to those of you who “carried” those of us who are not as fit.
Over 78% of the participants were non-caregivers ie more than 1500 non-caregivers “climbed” in solidarity with caregivers of persons with mental health issues. Many also indicated that they have not previously been aware of the world of mental illnesses and caregiving. The CAL website and the C4MW campaign website saw increased visitorship during this period. We took the opportunity to highlight stories of caregiving through the segment called the World of Caregiving.
More than 600 participants joined as members of teams formed from groups of friends, associates or colleagues. We are also heartened by the support from many organisations from the social service sector, and many teams from the corporate world as well. There were also 153 friends who are not residing in Singapore and the youngest participant, a 3 years old, contributed 156,222 steps! Participants may download the number of steps for individuals and teams at the campaign website before end August 2020.
The funds raised from the campaign go towards meeting the budget shortfall for our signature Caregivers-to-Caregivers (C2C) programme aimed at training and supporting caregivers for their caregiving journey. We are also initiating a new series of C2C classes targeted at young caregivers from the IHLs. The fundraising efforts under the Toteboard 1-1 Enhanced Fundraising Scheme will end on 31 July. It’s not too late if you still wish to support us.
Thank you for responding to the call for greater awareness of mental illnesses and for showing solidarity with caregivers as they continue to selflessly care for their loved ones especially in this challenging time of the pandemic.
20 July 2020
Thank you everyone for sharing your wonderful experiences with us. We are glad that you enjoyed being a part of our Climb for Mental Wellness campaign as much as we do. Here are some participants' message about our campaign:
"I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to do my part by clocking approximately 250,000 steps, a drop in the ocean, a drop nevertheless 😊. I think I benefited more from the routine and discipline of walking/running for more than a month from 6th June to 16th July. It has set a new healthy habit for me, thanks to CAL!"
Manoj
"It was a good experience to be part of this campaign to advocate for the Caregivers and mental wellness together. It also gives me a chance to be with nature and the wonderful park connectors and lush greenery of Singapore. Every step is my little effort to this good cause and the enormous energy as a collective group.
Thank you for this opportunity. Our collective knowledge on the mental wellbeing keeps growing and also sharing these photos to capture the happy moments. A huge thanks to everyone at Caregivers Alliance Ltd and everyone collective efforts for the Climb for Mental Wellness.
Nature is my playground. I walk and play too for this campaign. How wonderful!!!"
Lee Kwang Boon
18 July 2020
THANK YOU for showing solidarity with CAL and our caregivers. It has been an exciting campaign. We had participants from all walks of life around the world who joined us in this advocacy journey for mental wellness and caregiving. Mental health affects us all in one way or another, but we can fight stigma and create a more understanding society, starting with raising awareness together.
Please continue to donate to our Climb for Mental Wellness campaign. Our official fundraising period for the campaign continue until end of July. #C4MW
17 July 2020
15 July 2020
Have you been watching our What & How pages?
We’ve been bringing regular updates about a mysterious Masked Man, a caregiver who wears a mask to hide his identity. Who is this person? Why would he mask himself? Visit the page at https://sites.google.com/view/c4mw/what-how/the-masked-man to learn about his story and experiences.
We’re also challenging participants to keep pace with him, as a reminder that you are not in this campaign alone. As you contribute to the campaign, you are joining many other participants to make a stand for mental wellness together. We’ve so grateful to you for being part of this!
If you have not done so, please check out the What & How pages. Many of these pages explain what’s at the heart of this campaign: how we can reach out as a community to show solidarity with caregivers.
13 July 2020
Thank you so much to all participants for clocking your steps with us. #C4MW
12 July 2020
1 Final week
It’s the final week to the end of the campaign.
Would you join us in a final burst to the finish line? Let’s all do our best to clock in as many steps as we can to collectively reach 250 million steps, to show solidarity with caregivers.
To encourage you, we’d like to share a story from the organisation.
CAL’s staff have been clocking in steps under the team “CAL Staff”, but did you know? Those in the YOLO team have separately been contributing to the team “#YOLO2020 Team CAL”. Despite the YOLO team only having 8 members, those 8 have managed to clock in more steps than the rest of their colleagues combined (more than 25 people).
It’s not that CAL staff have not been doing their part. They certainly have! But perhaps it shows that you don’t need many people to make a big impact.
Inspired? Join us in a making a big impact this final week!
7 July 2020
Thank you for being part of #C4MW! Let's all keep fit together.
4 July 2020
As we near the end of the campaign, we're calling on you to make this campaign count! Can we achieve 2,500 Participants, $250,000 in donations, and 250 million steps together? Or can we even exceed our goals?
Certainly. We are already doing well, and there is so much we can do if we all put in effort together!
1) 2,500 participants
It's not too late to join the campaign! With 2 more weeks till the end of the campaign, new participants can still make the virtual climb to Everest Base Camp (65 km or 85,301 steps) by hitting just 6,000 steps a day! (In comparison, the National Steps Challenge calls on participants to clock 10,000 steps a day)
So share the campaign with your friends and get them to register (like our staff on the right who hosted a Zoom session!) You can use the material in the "Zoom to EBC" page here: https://sites.google.com/view/c4mw/what-how/zoom-to-ebc
2) $250,000 in donations
If you have been actively participating in the campaign by clocking in your steps, thank you! Why not consider donating to further this cause as well?
To inspire you, we at CAL have also been donating to the campaign because this cause is dear to us. CAL staff have pledged a total of $8,660 and $6,140 has been received so far.
Remember, it's not the amount that matters but the heart: read Jorah's story at https://sites.google.com/view/c4mw/what-how/donate-a-mite
3) 250 million steps
We can reach 250 million steps! As the circuit breaker restrictions ease, enjoy the time outdoors to exercise and keep fit. For motivation, have a look at the total steps the many teams have achieved so far.
You can also check out the creative team names that might inspire you to put on your sports shoes, including teams: Beautiful Feet, Walkie Talkie, Makankakis and Running Kakis!
View these and more at the Dashboard:
https://sites.google.com/view/c4mw/dashboard
2 July 2020
More photos of C4MW participants in action! Thank you for all your effort!
We welcome more photos from you, email us at comms@cal.org.sg
30 June 2020
As we pass 111 million steps collectively, we would like to acknowledge those that have shown a lot of commitment in this campaign. While many participants clock in impressive distances, we are also proud of those who keep at it every day - rain or shine. While we cannot feature everyone, here are some active participants who have clocked in their steps almost daily!
Frequent contributors for non-caregivers:
Low Chin Loo (contributing to both teams: FAB 8 and FWA)
Joanne Lim (from team: STEP UP)
Daisy Yeo (from team: Serving Hearts)
Frequent contributors for caregivers:
Carol Ee
Cindy Tan
Linda Chong Mei Lee
Felicia Ang (from team: Let's Exercise)
Josephine Leong
25 June 2020
We love receiving participants' photos!
If you would like to share your photos with us, email comms@cal.org.sg
22 June 2020
As the steps accumulate, we are grateful to find many supporters have been reaching impressive numbers of steps.
CAL's Board (plus ex-Board members) are one group that have been enthusiastically taking part. View their step count below:
Chew Sutat – 153,760 steps or 117 km
Jennifer Fan – 27,500 steps or 21 km
Elaine Teo – 70,000 steps or 53 km
Raymond Choo – 148,013 steps or 113 km
Francine Lim – 174,257 steps or 133 km
Dr Chua Siew Eng – 85,681 steps or 65 km
In total, they have travelled a distance the equivalent of going from Singapore to Kota Bharu, Malaysia (in Kelantan). That's almost the distance from Singapore to Thailand!
The total distance covered by ALL participants is about 55,000 km. That's more than travelling a complete circle around the Earth!
Fun fact: The equatorial circumference of the Earth is about 24,901 miles (40,075 km). However, from pole-to-pole (otherwise known as the meridional circumference), Earth is only 24,860 miles (40,008 km) across as the Earth is not a perfect sphere - it is wider in the middle near the equator.
16 June 2020
We are pleased to share that we have participants of all ages.
Here, our youngest participant (so far!) "Seb" checks the number of steps he's achieved. Seb is part of the NUTS team, and his grandparents based in Netherlands have also signed up for the campaign.
You don't have to be in Singapore to support this cause.
Have any friends living overseas who might like to take part? Invite them to join you and keep fit together!
13 June 2020
It has been 1 week since the campaign started!
How are we doing in reaching our goals? As of noontime, there were more than 1,280 participants and a whooping 28 million steps contributed to the campaign.
The campaign also has over 95 different teams! We would like to do a special call out to the team leading with the highest number of steps after Week 1: ONENCSS (participants from the National Council of Social Service). Great job, and thank you for your staunch support!
One of the most striking things about the numbers so far is that 77.7% of participants are non-caregivers. This is wonderful, because it shows that the campaign is achieving its aim of gathering many people (including non-caregivers) to demonstrate solidarity and support for mental health and caregivers of persons with mental health and dementia.
Excited about the campaign?
The first Zoom session hosted by the #YOLO2020 Team CAL was held today, with more than 34 participants coming together for a time of sharing about mental health, virtual bonding and games. If you would like to join the next session, find out more here!
Remember to clock in your steps! To see the total step count and the top 10 teams, visit the Dashboard.
Email 13 June 2020 C4MW.pdf11 June 2020
You can do any form of exercise to contribute to the total step count. As the campaign progresses, some are clocking in steps from walking, running, or even doing housework.
Here are some photos of C4MW participants in action! Well done on climbing up so many flights of stairs.
To everyone taking part, thank you for your effort. Together, we're getting nearer to our goal of 250 million steps!
9 June 2020
Only 2 days into the campaign, we have passed a milestone: 1000 sign ups!
Here's a fun fact: the figure of 1000 participants was reached on the dot at midnight, after the first weekend of the campaign.
Let's celebrate this achievement together, as we continue climbing to the target of 2,500 participants!
6 June 2020
Today marks the start of the campaign!
In this video, #YOLO2020 Team CAL starts the morning all ready to clock in steps, in solidarity with caregivers!
What about you? Join us by registering today and submitting the step count from any exercise you do!
Note: You may collate your step count and submit through this form any time, whether once a day or once a week.