The inaugural Dig Deep event, which was held on Sunday 29 May to raise funds for Beyond Blue and awareness for mental health issues in the construction industry has been a great success, with a sell-out crowd attending the event.
A capacity crowd was in attendance at the event, which was held at Gaelic Park, in Keysborough, Victoria.
Co-founder and CRE Group director Patrick Doheny thanked the event sponsors, exhibitors, and crew for supporting the event.
“It was fantastic to see so many people enjoying the displays, watching the William Adams Cat Global Operator Challenge and importantly helping Beyond Blue help this industry we all work in and love,” he said.
The earthmoving industry came together to put on a display of machinery, earthmoving equipment and attachments. One of the highlights was Hitachi with their new Zaxis 7 excavator on display, the first in Australia.
And families and kids weren’t left out with CJD Equipment Volvo printing names on high vis vests and the Kubota kids area was an absolute hit with a colouring station and go kart track.
UAA had coffee and popcorn machines with all donations going to Beyond Blue and other exhibitors featured BBQs with blue bread, a massage and relaxation zone, mini golf, and simulators.
The William Adams Cat Global Operator Challenge featured the ten finalists culled from the heats the previous weekend.
The operators competed throughout the day from 10.30am to 3.30pm with Patrick Doheny from CRE Group prevailing and he will be representing William Adams Cat in the Global Operator Challenge regional finals in Japan this October.
All profits from Dig Deep will be donated to Beyond Blue to help their efforts in raising awareness for mental health in construction.
The final amount is still being tallied up.
Dig Deep haven’t set a date on another event yet but have received positive messages and enquires for the next event.
Tragically 190 construction workers take their own lives per year which equates to one person every two days1 and the team behind Dig Deep want to stop this needless loss of life.
Construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than an accident at work. For young construction workers, the facts are that they are twice as likely to take their own lives than other young Australian men.2
According to Beyond Blue, 27 per cent of their calls in the 2020-2021 financial year were males aged 15-54.
Based on population, this demographic is underrepresented, and the starting point is educating males around signs and symptoms and helping to break stigma around reaching out for support; exactly what events like Dig Deep are aiming to do.
For more information on Dig Deep, click here.
Related stories:
- Dig Deep raising awareness for mental health in the construction industry
- Digging for a cause: UAA supports the Dig Deep Event