Another year, another successful Lindfield Fun Run.
Over 1,750 runners participated in the 2025 Fun Run on Sunday the 4th of May.
Organised by the Rotary Club of Ku-ring-gai, this year’s event saw attractions and activities to bolster camaraderie and community spirit. Face painting, food stalls, a basketball competition, music by a DJ, warm up exercises before the runs, prizes and award presentations.
Rotary donates all proceeds to designated charities that support a range of demographics. For children, 50% of the proceeds are given to Ku-ring-gai Youth Development Service. For women, 25% of the funds raised are donated to the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter.
The remaining 25% is given to Mentoring Men, a not-for-profit that, in 2025, were first time beneficiaries.
Mentoring Men, as its name suggests, provides men across the community with free mentorship opportunities. Mentoring Men recognise the mental health and loneliness crisis affecting Australian men and are striving to combat this by teaming up every man in need with an encouraging, supportive, and non-judgemental ear to listen.
By the end of April this year, Mentoring Men had facilitated over 450 relationships and provided free mentoring.
‘We are told time and time again that men don’t seek help, and whilst that expression may have served its purpose 10 or 20 years ago, it is now starting to self-perpetuate the issue,’ says Filipe Gama e Silva, Mentoring Men CEO. ‘What we are seeing is men are willing to seek help, they just don’t know where to find it. It is community events like [Lindfield Fun Run] that gets us out there and visible.’
From a pool of trained mentors, the not-for-profit connects men with a specific mentor by considering their age, geographical location, life experience, and the goals they have set for themselves. Each mentor supports one mentee at a time. The relationships span on average 3 to 12 months, with regular contact – no more than once a week and no less than once a month.
‘Some come full circle, they come on as a mentee and they want to pay it forward,’ explains Filipe. ‘They come back to us and say, “Can I become a mentor?”. When you talk about success stories, that is the really the most wholesome way of looking at it. You empower community and you create a cycle of change.’
With the funds that Rotary donate because of the Lindfield Fun Run, Mentoring Men will funnel the money into awareness campaigning, securing more mentors and reaching out to men so the public know there is a place they can go if they need someone to speak with.
Mentoring Men are thankful for the generosity of the Rotary Club of Ku-ring-gai and the opportunity to engage with the local community.
For more information, visit mentoringmen.org.au
