Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor and students from the Australian National University are literally ‘jogging’ people’s minds about the importance of mental health awareness.

Mr Taylor today joined about 20 ANU students to run the final 5km in Goulburn as part of this year’s Civic2Surf, an annual charity relay from ANU campus in Canberra to Bondi Beach.

Civic2Surf began in 2011 after ANU Young Alumnus of the 2013 and founder of Batyr, Sebastian Robertson, spoke openly at his former university college about his battle with depression.

“Six of his mates wanted to show their commitment to changing attitudes about mental health and raise funds for Batyr, a social enterprise that focuses on preventative education in the area of young people’s mental health,” Mr Taylor said.

“So they took on the enormous challenge of running from Canberra to Sydney over six days.

“Civic2Surf helps break down barriers. It was a privilege to help the students today work towards that aim.”

Proceeds from last year’s Civic2Surf, which Mr Taylor also participated in, went towards the establishment of a Batyr chapter on ANU campus.

This means programs can now be offered on campus where people who have experienced mental illness can share their story and inspire others.

“In the average Australian classroom of 30 students, seven will experience mental health difficulty,” President of this year’s Civic2Surf organising committee Zach Mackey said.

“Only two of those seven will ever seek professional help, meaning five will suffer in silence.”

Donations can be made at https://chuffed.org/project/civic2surf For more details about Batyr visit www.batyr.com.au

Caption: Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor accompanies ANU students on their Civic2Surf charity relay leg into Goulburn on Friday.