Freedom Pilgrimage to Spain - Proudly supporting beyondblue

Welcome to my beyondblue 1000km Hiking the Camino Fundraising Page!

Hi There or Hola in Spanish!

My name is Carlo Laruccia and in September 2014 (this year) I am planning on travelling to Spain and walking/hiking 1000 kilometers by myself from one side of the country to the other along an ancient spiritual track known as the Camino de Santiago.  I will be walking along the Northern track (Camino del norte) and also inland via the Camino Primativo to the city of Santiago de Compostella and further to the coast of Finisterre (in ancient times known as the end of the world). I will be starting my journey in the at the base of the French Pyrenees in the town Sain Jean Pied de Port. 

BUT I NEED YOUR HELP.  I want to make this walk significant and meaningful to myself and others.  I want to raise funds for beyondblue to support people who have experienced mental illness in the past, who are currently experiencing difficulties and who will experience difficulties in the future.  To do this I am asking for people to HELP by donating directly to beyondblue via this website.

beyondblue’s work is aimed at achieving an Australian community that understands depression and anxiety, empowering all Australians, at any life-stage, to seek help. For more information about beyondblue please click here http://www.beyondblue.org.au/

I would like to raise as much money as possible to support beyondblue and given I am walking 1000 kilometers, as an option you can provide support of $2 for every kilometer walked.  I will walk for you, your friends and family and beyondblue for all the kilometres that I am sponsored through this fundraising effort.  And I will also be walking the journey for myself as well. So every kilometer supported will add up.  Remember its $2 per kilometer to sponsor me.  So for example if you want to sponsor me to walk 50 kilometers (which is approximately 2 days hiking) then that will be 50km x $2/perkm = $100.  Or to sponsor me for a day's hiking which will be approximately 25km that would equate to 25 x $2 = $50. Or for 15km it would be 15k x 2 = $30. CHOOSE any number of kilometres or any amount of money that you would like to donate. All donations are tax deductible so the real cost to you is much less. Sponsorship for the same kilometres hiked can be made by more than one person, company or organisation as the fundraising target is unlimited!  The more kilometres supported the more significant the journey that I undertake.

I will also be blogging about my experience on the hike as well as some of my life experiences, mental health experiences, personal challenges and the help that I have sought along the way.  My blog address is http://carlo1000kcamino.blogspot.com.au/ To receive notifications and to follow all of my blog updates Like my Facebook page named 1000k Inspiration https://www.facebook.com/1000kinspiration and then select Follow & Get Notifications and every time I blog or post updates from my hike through Spain - you will receive them!

In addition as an OPPORTUNITY for YOU, in keeping with the spirit of the Camino, I can also receive your secrets, stories of guilt, shame, fear, difficulties and other things that have not been shared with anyone else/many others to date due to fear of judgement and shame.  I will carry your stories through to Santiago and Finisterre where we can release together and allow some lightness, acceptance and healing into your world.  You may have decided never to tell anyone but think about it regularly and may be still holding onto it in one way or another, and can now use this experience as a way of  healing and moving forward.   I've carried my secrets for far to many years and thought that I could never tell anyone and now know then benefits in reaching out and sharing. In the spirit of balance, I will also be accepting all of your intentions, creations, goals, plans and manifestations (confidential or otherwise) that you would like to bring to life in the future to add extra strength, power and energy towards these and help you focus on achieving them as I carry them across Spain. You may also like to share a positive change that you would like to see in yourself, the community or the world. Communication can be in person or emailed totally anonymously to caminodiscovery@gmail.com using an anonymous email account created using a pseudonym. I would be totally honoured to do this for you and would treat your story with absolute respect and confidentiality.

I am passionate about mental health promotion and encouraging others to take the first step to reach out for help and I have dedicated my future to this cause.  I am also passionate about supporting beyondblue in spreading the messages of Hope.Recovery.Resilience.  beyondblue is a national not for profit organisation that works to raise awareness about anxiety, depression and suicide prevention, reduce the associated stigma and encourage people to get help. I also became a beyondblue Ambassador and Speaker recently as well as an Ambassador for Suicide Prevention Australia as I'm grateful for my life and want to be able to give back to the community and for others to be able to learn through my personal experiences.

I want to live in a world where people experiencing mental illness are accepted firstly as people and not their illness, and where mental illness is viewed as an opportunity for healing change and growth.

So I'm making a difference and fundraising for beyondblue to help achieve their goals as well as mine.

I’d appreciate any contribution, big or small for the kilometers I will be hiking.  To walk the total length along my planned Camino path will take approximately 6 weeks.  Please help me to raise as much money as possible and spreading awareness of Hope.Recovery.Resilience!  An open invitation also exists for anyone to join me anywhere along the path from one day to one week to one month. 

To learn a bit more about me and some of my story click on the links below to read some newspaper articles I've appeared in recently.

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/2492009/bringing-light-into-world-of-darkness/

http://www.theage.com.au/national/suicide-survivor-shares-his-story-to-help-others-20140614-3a4th.html

http://www.theage.com.au/national/how-a-new-trial-in-northern-territory-could-improve-australias-appalling-suicide-figures-20140614-zs7z3.html

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/breaking-the-silence-about-suicide-20140620-zsg99.html

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/why-we-need-to-end-the-taboo-surrounding-suicide-20140613-zs6mr.html

Donations made through this platform are secure and will be remitted directly through to beyondblue.

If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties coping with mental health please contact beyondblue on its 24/7 telephone support line on 1300 224 636 or click on http://www.beyondblue.org.au/ where you can access more information about mental health, resilience and how to take the next step or you can use webchat. For suicide crisis support or if you're thinking about suicide please phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 (free from a mobile phone) or the National Suicide Callback service on 1300 659 467. Note: Australian telephone numbers only listed here.

This year I am also fundraising for Suicide Prevention Australia http://suicidepreventionaust.org/ for my 40th birthday year and if you would also like to donate or would prefer to donate to Suicide Prevention Australia please click on http://makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au/page/Carlo40

Thanks so much for your support & Buen Camino!

Carlo Laruccia