Guy Sebastian with his fellow walker Tim.
Last Sunday, the town of Harden-Murrumburrah had a very special visitor. The multi-platinum certified artist Guy Sebastian walked from Wagga to Junee to raise money for mental health. Sebastian and his mate Tim Freeburn planned to walk a whopping 500km from Wagga to Sydney, making their first stop of the tour in Junee. Many local residents made sure to give the 2003 Australian Idol winner a warm welcome and donated money to the cause along with plenty of photos Guy was happy to take. In a statement on Facebook, Guy Sebastian said, “My best mate, Tim Freeburn, came to me with the idea of walking a ridiculously long way 500km – to raise funds and awareness for the programs The Sebastian Foundation supports for youth mental health,” he said.
“We are aiming high – we hope to raise $1 million which will put 35,000 kids through Open Parachute, a peer-to-peer in-school program that is unlike anything else we have seen to give Aussie youth the best chance to grow up healthy and happy.” The Sebastian Foundation was founded in 2013 by the singer and his wife Jules Sebastian.
The foundation has provided many services in many areas including young girls, domestic violence shelters, hospitals, music therapy, mentoring programs for teenagers, women who have experienced domestic violence and more. This particular walk is raising money for the mental health service, Open Parachute, which works with the Foundation to bring cutting-edge well-being programs to students who may need them. The walk Guy and Tim are undergoing is still in its early stages and is still in progress, so if you’re driving down towards Sydney and spot him walking along, don’t be afraid to say “hi” and raise money for a good cause. Jack Murray
