The Board is currently looking to fill vacant spots on the expeditions with other people with or associated with bipolar disorder. We will be contacting those who previously applied and others who have subsequently expressed an interest to be involved as well as approaching a small number of high profile people associated with Bipolar Disorder.
Plans for 2010 are to conduct the North Pole Expedition in April 2010, a Bipolar Disorder Awareness Day on June 21 ( with awareness and fundraising events around this day), and the South Pole Expedition in either Jan or Nov 2010, (Timing for this trip will depend on numbers and availability, which will become clear in the next 2-3months).
The Bipolar Expedition is granting its first research grant for Bipolar Disorder in Australia. Applications are open now, for a one tear research project and will close on Friday 25th September 2009. The value of this Research Grant is $55,000 for 1 year and it will be known as the “BiPolar Australian Rotary Health” grant.
The funds will be provided through Australian Rotary Health and “Bipolar Expedition”.
Applicants must be eligible to undertake research at an appropriate University or Research Institute in Australia. Download the application form here: Rotary Health Bipolar Grant
We are actively exploring the potential of establishing an Australian Bipolar Disorder Awareness Day on 21 June each year. 21 June is the annual winter solstice, when it is darkest in the southern hemisphere and brightest in the northern hemisphere.
The Board is currently looking to fill vacant spots on the expeditions with other people with or associated with bipolar disorder. We will be contacting those who previously applied and others who have subsequently expressed an interest to be involved as well as approaching a small number of high profile people associated with Bipolar Disorder.
Plans for 2010 are to conduct the North Pole Expedition in April 2010, a Bipolar Disorder Awareness Day on June 21 ( with awareness and fundraising events around this day), and the South Pole Expedition in either Jan or Nov 2010, (Timing for this trip will depend on numbers and availability, which will become clear in the next 2-3months).
The Bipolar Expedition is seeking a skilled and passionate individual to take up the position of Global Project Manager (GPM) through the growth phase of the organisation. The GPM’s focus will be to lead and manage The Bipolar Expedition planning team and coordinate the preparation for the expeditions and global media campaign. To download the position description and remuneration package please click here.
For Further Information:Contact Simon | Email bipolar@dayeight.com.au | Phone +61 433 185 288
Well the sausage sizzle was a success! We raised over $1500 towards the expedition on the day. A big thanks to my sister Jenny, and brothers Chris and Alex to help me set up. Thanks to Michael to teach us the MacDonald’s way of food prep, cash and cooking work flow Also to Rachel and Michael and Tracy to take time out on their Saturday. Lastly thanks to Mum and dad and Marilyn who help to pack up while I ran to the airport to catch a flight to New Zealand.
All the T-shirts provided for the day were provided by David Cregan. If you would like to order one please go to his blog.
Tips for the day include:
Make sure you have plenty of BBQ sauce and Mustard and lots and lots of onions! (We had to do three shop runs)
Have people on three hour rosters.
Get the work flow running smoothly for quick customer service.
I am off to NZ next Saturday for the Christmas holidays and I won’t have a chance to wish you all Merry Christmas. I am managing a sausage sizzle next Saturday at the Wecker Rd, Mansfield, Bunnings Hardware if you want to support me and buy a sausage or even better help me cook/burn a few on the day. All proceeds go the the Bipolar Expedition. Then I am jumping on a plane until Christmas. These past few weeks have been hot, hot and hot. I dropped down to the Bunnings last weekend to ask the other charities if they had any advice on their store. Be organised and bring a radio was about it. The group was the local Polish Scouts who were raising money for their group to travel back to Poland for a Jamboree. I bought a sausage, went back to my car and went to drive home. I’d only driven a few hundred metres before the police pulled me over and gave me a big lecture of eating and driving. So the moral of the story is please come and buy a sausage from me but eat it before you drive away.
In the November issue of New Scientist, the article, “The e-Doctor will see you now” found a plethora of mental health programs providing online treatment with minimal medical support. There are sites for depression, and more recently more complicated disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder or panic disorder with agoraphobia. The one that perked my interest was an e-therapy program to treat Bipolar Disorder called MoodSwings. Patients with bipolar disorder are usually prescribed mood-stabilising drugs and one-on-one therapy. MoodSwings includes a psychologist-moderated chatroom, and is intended as an alternative to one-on-one therapy.
The MoodSwings program is actively seeking participants to be involved. If you are interested please register your interest at www.moodswings.net.au
Another online self help tool for depression that has been around for awhile is MoodGYM. MoodGYM is a free, fun, interactive program consisting of different modules. Check it out at www.moodgym.anu.edu.au
I leave for New Zealand in two weeks… I can’t wait. I have never been to the South Island and the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch and the Franz Josef Glacier are both on the top of the list! I thought i better get some educational insight to the Antarctic and then have a trek on a glacier to test the cold. I have done a day trip on a glacier ten years ago when I went to Chile and Patagonia for a Scout Jamboree and it was fantastic. We are hiring a car and planning to travel right through Christmas. If anyone has any tips or suggestions of where to go please let me know! I will endeavour to keep updating this blog while I am away.
We are now one year away from the first leg of The Bipolar Expedition! As we build momentum towards this awesome event, we are looking for people to help us with awareness and fundraising activities. If you would like to be involved in ways large or small, come along to our informal information meeting at 3pm on Sunday 23rd November. Meet us at The Nag’s Head Hotel, 162 St Johns Rd, Glebe. We will make ourselves easy to find - look for a sign saying ‘The Bipolar Expedition’. You can register interest via email n.zappert@bipolarexpedition.org , or call Nimmity on 0431 467 965 - or just come along!
We are registered as a community on a website called ‘Our Community’. They are running a Christmas Card campaign, where if someone buys Christmas Cards via their site, they will donate $1 from every card to the community group of their choice. All you have to do is get the donor to put ‘The Bipolar Expedition’ as the nominated community group in section 4 of the order form. You download the order form here or you can print off the order form and use it yourself.
One great thing is that it also has the facility for businesses to add their logo and a short message to card (at no extra cost). So if you have any contacts at small businesses, this could be a great way to get some extra donations, as many businesses still send out christmas cards to their contacts every year. Postage within Australia is included in the cost of the card. I know I will be letting everyone know about it.
In preparation to writing this Blog I spent some time having a look at current blogs on the net. I was pleased to see this article listing the Top Ten Bipolar Blogs for 2008. Maybe this one will make the list next year?
In particular I quite enjoyed reading the second top blog called Pole to Polar: The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive
Seaneen, a woman in the UK with characteristic wit and a gift for metaphors, keeps a blog that is much like the disorder: it ranges from hilarious to melancholy to very serious. Even the serious bits are wry, though, e.g. “The crappiest thing about [her recent suicide attempt] is that I lost the eBay auction for the camera that broke on me.” She’s someone you can’t help but feel affection for. Like the author of the top ten bipolar blogs, I was sidetracked into reading her archives for hours. Highly recommend it.
Jul 14th, 2009 | 
Also to Rachel and Michael and Tracy to take time out on their Saturday. Lastly thanks to Mum and dad and Marilyn who help to pack up while I ran to the airport to catch a flight to New Zealand.
