Wellington Women to row Through The Blue
Between 12th and 16th April, four women will attempt to cross the Cook Strait in a rowing boat to raise awareness for
youth mental health issues. If they are successful, they will be the first all-female crew to cross the Cook Strait in a
rowing boat. The 100km row will start at Picton Rowing Club and finish at Wellington Rowing Club.
The rowers are:
Tina Manker Represented Germany at 2012 Olympics
Johannah Kearney Represented New Zealand at International level
Rachel Gamble-Flint Represented Great Britain at International level
Eleanor Morris Rows for Wellington Rowing Club
Julia Richter (spare) Represented Germany at 2012 Olympics
Through The Blue Charitable Trust is a group of 20 somethings who want to help bring the conversation about mental
health issues into New Zealand classrooms by raising funds to develop educational programmes and resources for teens and
teachers. We are dedicated to providing better prevention and early intervention for anxiety and depression in high
school aged youth in New Zealand.
As rowers, we know that Wellington Harbour can be treacherous; Cook Strait is completely unpredictable - just like
anxiety and depression. All of us either have experienced serious mental health issues ourselves or have close friends
and relatives who are affected. Many of us work or have worked with New Zealand youth as coaches or teachers. We are
keen to help provide better prevention and early intervention for anxiety and depression.
We have gathered information from local sources like the Youth Wellbeing Study at Victoria University and hope to extend
the collaboration with experts in the area of youth mental health. Initially, we aim to work towards providing resources
and education to teachers. We are also looking into funding research to find where out what kind of help and support is
most effective in helping youth struggling with mental health issues. Rojolie Clinic are generously providing the help
of Anne Elders, a Nurse and Cognitive Behavioural Therapist who will help set up the programme in coordination with
teachers.
Donations can be made at givealittle and please like our facebook
ends