Five months ago, Kyneton local Jacob Pearce started a campaign called Pearcy’s Pledge to Mental Health.
He started this campaign because he believed he had a great opportunity to make a difference.
Not only did he battle with his mental health and lose close people to suicide, but two years ago he survived a horrific incident that saw him fall 22 storeys from a balcony in a Melbourne apartment.
After making a full recovery, Jacob had a burning desire to make a difference and help others.
“I knew I had a story that could help people of all ages but especially our young people,” he said.
“Because of this, I created my Pledge to Mental Health.
“My aim was to raise awareness and funding for youth mental health organisation Alive Project.”
Since November, Jacob has been campaigning and holding sausage sizzles, and on March 7 he embarked on his Murray2Melbourne journey.
In 10 days, Jacob walked 375kms from NSW border town, Barham and stopped at towns such as Pyramid Hill, Marong, Harcourt, Malmsbury, Blackwood, Bacchus Marsh, Werribee, before finishing at the Port Melbourne Football Club on Sunday March 17 in front of almost 300 people.
After walking in to a huge round of applause, he spoke about his story and what inspired him to take this direction in life. It was a raw and emotional speech that was followed by a talk from Kyneton local Nathan Thompson, comedians and some music by Kyneton’s very own Taylor Sheridan.
It was a day that no one in the room will ever forget.
A month has now passed and Jacob has had time to reflect.
“The highlight from my walk was the amount of people it brought together,” he said.
“I never walked alone and always had family, friends and the Kyneton community encouraging and supporting me over the line each day.”
On Labour Day, this was apparent when Jacob walked down the big hill of his hometown Malmsbury while accompanied by family and friends and escorted by the local CFA in front of about 100 Malmsbury locals.
Jacob has described his walk as “The best experience of my life!”
Jacob’s original goal was to raise $10,000 and this was going to kick-start Alive Project in two Victorian schools. This money will create mental health school programs, workshops and an online 24-hour support program for parents and students to refer to.
This week the last of the donations from his campaign was tallied and the official amount of Jacob’s Pledge has reached $88,000!
This incredible amount of money is now going to establish Alive Project in 16 Victorian schools, which includes 12-month curriculum, parent and teacher support training.
In the future, Jacob will continue his pledge to mental health. He will continue to tell his story as he believes by doing so will further smash the stigma of mental health and in turn save lives.
The electrician of over 10 years has also taken up a managing role at Alive Project and aims to one day see mental health programs in all Victorian schools.
To hear Jacob’s story at one of your events, worksites, schools or sporting clubs, contact him through the following handles –
Email – cobpearce@gmail.com
Facebook – @pearcyspledge
Instagram – @cobpearce
