2018 MENtal Brekky guest speaker announced

It is with great excitement that the College can announce our guest speaker for the third annual 2018 MENTal Brekky, run under the auspices of the Chris Yeung Fund and the SPC Foundation, which will be held in the St Patrick’s College Old Collegians Association Pavilion from 7am on Friday, October 19.

Former AFL player with Essendon and Carlton and renowned motivational speaker Glenn Manton has accepted the invitation to address our breakfast on the theme of building resilience in today’s youth.

Glenn is a fantastic, engaging and energetic speaker who, we feel, will bring a new burst of life to the MENtal Brekky and will encourage many new faces to attend.

This year’s event will once again be hosted by our Master of Ceremonies Steve Moneghetti and will feature an update on the growing number of Ballarat families being supported by funds raised through the MENtal Brekky and the Chris Yeung Fund.

We are also excited to announce that two major supporting partners have joined us to ensure the success of this year’s event.

The Catholic Diocese of Ballarat Foundation, through the Ballarat Catholic Bishop’s Charitable Fund, has partnered with the breakfast as a major supporter for a five year term, ensuring significant funds are raised to help families in need.

Similarly, VicSuper has, for the second year, joined as a major corporate sponsor. We thank both organisations for their sensational support.

Established in 2016, the Chris Yeung Fund aims to raise awareness of and provide financial assistance for families in the St Patrick’s College community where the father is suffering mental illness.

To date, more than $70,000 has been raised and the fund is currently providing financial relief for several families, ensuring their sons can remain enrolled at the College despite their financial hardship brought about by illness.

This remarkable achievement has drawn the attention of former Prime Minister and current chair of BeyondBlue, Julia Gillard.

In a letter to Chris Yeung Fund chair Simon Dwyer (SPC 1976-81), Ms Gillard praised organisers for drawing community attention to the problem of mental illness among men.

-Addressing the reasons for suicide and why someone may want to take their own life are very complex. Historically, there has been a tyranny of silence surrounding mental health and suicide,- Ms Gillard wrote.

-We know that men in particular are not always very good at asking for help, so being able to talk about things in a supportive environment is so important.

-Thank you for coming together as a community to support each other, and your fundraising efforts.

-We know that depression is a high risk factor for suicide, so the opportunity to be supported in such a forum is vital to help reduce the stigma around mental health, and assist people to feel confident sharing their own mental health concerns.-

Tickets for this year’s breakfast are now on sale at $50 per person and are sure to sell quickly as they have done previously.

Tickets can be purchased at this link: www.trybooking.com/SVEZ

• Families wishing to know more about how to donate to or apply for assistance through the fund are urged to contact the College’s Development Officer Paul Nolan at pnolan@stpats.vic.edu.au