Join the Bravery Trek: A Five-Week Challenge to Support Australian Defence Force Veterans
Registrations are now open for Bravery Trust’s annual five-week physical challenge, the Bravery Trek. This event serves as a unified symbol of support for all who serve in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and aligns with Veterans’ Health Week.
Event Overview
The Bravery Trek is a virtual challenge, allowing participants to trek anywhere while raising awareness about the financial support available to veterans and their families. This initiative highlights a commitment to those who sustain illness or injury as a result of their service.
Community Engagement
“Bravery Trek unites community groups, workplace engagement programs, and corporate sponsors, providing an opportunity to say thank you to those who serve our country and raise awareness of the ways we can support our veterans,” said Bravery Trust CEO Garth Callender. “We receive incredible support from within the ADF, and we are seeing growing numbers of individuals who have never served or worked in Defence signing up to show their support by raising funds and awareness.”
Fundraising and Support
Bravery Trek raises funds to provide a financial safety net for veterans and their families facing hardship. It also offers longer-term financial counselling to help rebuild lives. The charity provides a free, veteran-specific financial counselling service to all current and ex-serving members of the ADF, as well as a financial fitness program to assist them in avoiding or reducing financial hardship by developing an understanding of financial options and building better money habits.
“Finances have long been a hard conversation to start,” Callender noted. “Veterans are, by nature, proud people who can find it hard to ask for help when needed. Getting people together and raising awareness through Bravery Trek is a way we can initiate and normalize some of those hard conversations and encourage people to reach out for help as soon as their financial circumstances change. We know there is an intrinsic link between financial hardship and suicide, and through financial counselling and financial support, we can help to save lives.”
Sponsorship and Participation
Leidos will again be the major sponsor of Bravery Trek, supported by Wilson Security, Birdon, Defence Bank, and Brooks. This year marks the fifth year of Bravery Trek and celebrates the five domains of Defence over five weeks, from 8 September to 12 October. Participants will be rewarded with virtual achievement badges as they complete either 10 kilometres or 50 kilometres each week.
Registration is free at www.braverytrek.com.au, with a complimentary T-shirt for those who raise $55 before 24 August and a bespoke Bravery Trek Challenge coin for participants who raise $150 during the five weeks of Bravery Trek.
