The White Report | December 2022 | Page 62

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS REACHES GREAT HEIGHTS
Ray White Commercial Western Sydney managing director Peter Vines has hiked Tasmania ’ s Cradle Mountain , raising more than $ 22,000 for the Black Dog Institute .
Peter joined 13 other people for four days of hiking in and around Cradle Mountain .
He said the biggest highlight was coming together with people from all different backgrounds for a common goal .
“ Like many others , when I was a teenager one of my friends took his life . It was an incredibly sad time and affected many of my other friends very deeply still to this day ,” Peter said .
“ Everyone on the hike had their own mental health challenges and had a story as to why they were there which was really powerful .
“ We ’ re quite big on mental health so it was a good way of raising money for the Black Dog Institute and also having a fantastic experience .”
Peter wanted to thank everyone who donated to the cause .
“ Mental health can be a huge challenge and it can touch anyone we know at any point in their life ,” he said .
“ I think it ’ s really important that we ’ re constantly looking to identify problems and be creative in the way we come up with solutions .”
HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF RACERS
Before switching to real estate , Ray White Ferntree Gully agent Cristine Jones was a mechanic who had raced on every major car track in Australia .
This year , she helped the next generation of aspiring racers by sponsoring her local Wheelers Hill Jells Park Primary School ’ s Team Phoenix , Team Vanquish and Team Shazam ( pictured above ) and their racing trikes .
Cristine ’ s sponsorship meant the school was able to update all three trikes and assist with building a new school trailer . Not only did the kids love the look of the upgrades , they were also able to improve their average lap time by up to 30 seconds .
“ To be able to help nurture them from an early stage so they get an understanding of the importance of road safety , that ’ s what attracted me to this , as well as the sporting the event ,” Cristine said .
“ I wanted to be able to work with the local community and show I ’ m here to help . I don ’ t want to be in a neighbourhood where it ’ s all take , it ’ s genuinely nice to give back .
“ There ’ s no point sponsoring an event if you ’ re not passionate about it or don ’ t have a connection to it . I ’ m delighted that they were able to upgrade the trikes which gave them the ability to go faster - it meant a lot to me .”
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