Community
8 May, 2026
Push ups for a purpose: Charlton siblings tackle mental health
While their siblings worked on their own journeys through it, Charlton’s William and Emily have been working on ways to support them and others.
LIKE many others, the Canham family has been touched by mental health.
While their siblings worked on their own journeys through it, Charlton’s William and Emily have been working on ways to support them and others.
That’s when mum Dianne approached William to do the Push Up challenge last year.
“Mental health is in all our hearts” she said.
“Last year, William was a part of the challenge and raised $192 as it was something his school was doing and he wanted more people to be aware of mental health issues.
“So this year, he wanted to promote it and get the message out there.
“And because he was only in Year 9 he couldn’t be an ambassador, so Emily jumped on board to help out and promote it as well.”
Emily has since been completing online mental health workshops in the lead up to the challenge in June.
“You learn a lot about the signs to look out for when one of your friends might be struggling and how you can support them,” she said.
“It can sometimes be as simple as seeing your friend not engaging at lunch time and you going over to try and talk with them.
“You don’t have to push them to do anything, but just letting them know you’re here if they need.”
William said he noticed a lot of his mates didn’t really talk about their feelings. “It’s just not something boys are doing, so we want to change that,” he said.
This year, the siblings will both be aiming to complete 1654 push ups in 24 days.
Dianne said her children being advocates was an important step in the right direction for children their age.
“Every push up they do represents a life lost to suicide, so even when it gets hard, just think of all those lives lost,” she said.
“It’s so important, especially for young people these days with technology and all, to be more aware of their mental health as a lot would hide their feelings away.
“They need to know it’s ok to talk about it.
“Both my husband and I are very proud of them, they are raising money for a very important cause.
“They’ve raised $220 for the cause so far and still going.”
Launched in October 2022, the Push for Better Foundation aims to engage and educate people in mental and physical health, raise awareness of the mental health issues affecting everyday Australians, and help foster mental wellbeing and fitness.
You can support Emily and William as they Push Up in June online here: www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/fundraisers/williamcanham2011 or www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/fundraisers/emilycanham
Join yourself at: www.thepushupchallenge.com.au
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