A long day of walking by three friends is helping a local non-profit continue to provide much needed services to the region.

Twin brothers Daniel and Nick Keys along with Lyndsey Janes each be walked around 80 km on Saturday in an attempt to raise $3,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association of Wood Buffalo.

They ended up raising nearly $5,200.

Speaking on Fort McMurray Matters, the three friends stated they wanted to support CMHA of Wood Buffalo as they’ve seen a rise in people looking to access their programs and services.

This comes as residents deal with the aftermath of the 2016 wildfire, 2020 flood, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We hope this will create some awareness and help people speak out more and seek the services they require,” said Dan.

Mike Jones, Marketing and Communications Coordinator with the CMHA of Wood Buffalo, told Mix News they were truly inspired by the friends.

“We were so thrilled when Nicholas, Dan and Lyndsey chose CMHA as the benefactors of this walk. All three of them are tremendously good sports and showed a ton of community spirit by pulling this off in plus 30 temperatures and during a tornado watch, to boot.”

The three are still planning to accept donations until the end of the month.

Those struggling with their mental health can reach out to the CMHA of Wood Buffalo to take part in their programs and services.