Car convoy to raise mental awareness
During her battle with anxiety and depression, Kerikeri’s Aimee Upson decided to combine her desire to raise money for charity with her love for Japanese performance vehicles.
Upson, 27, has organised Japanese Elite which will see 60 top Japanese imports make their way from Auckland to Matauri Bay to raise money and awareness for Live More Awesome.
Starting just after sunrise in Auckland on February 25, the convoy will stop at the Paihia Village Green before heading to Matauri Bay for the night.
Upson says wanting to share the message that talking about mental health is okay and combining it with her passion for performance cars made sense.
She says the typical demographic for performance vehicles is 18 to 35-year-old males, a group which is highly represented in mental health statistics.
‘‘The members are mostly males, so this is creating an event where we can bring vehicles and talk about something that is otherwise swept under the carpet.’’
Upson says in Northland there are limited resources.
She says once she was through the worst of the depression she came across Live More Awesome - a charity she was keen to raise money for.
The charity, lead by Jimi Hunt, has produced the World’s Biggest Waterslide for a fundraising initiative for mental health.
Hunt plans to speak at the Paihia stop and will be speaking at the evening event at Matauri Bay.
The group will reach the Paihia Village Green around 12pm on February 25, where people can vote for their favourite vehicle by way of a gold coin donation to the cause.
‘‘There’s a passion and a quality - that’s what separates us from the boy racers.
‘‘I’ve always said this event is about bringing together a great group of people with passion for their builds and respect for other people’s build, creatse awareness about something that needs atten- tion at the moment.’’
Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.