Executive officer Lisa Renato said the local participants will be working to match, if not beat, the $12,000 figure from last year.

The Push-Up Challenge 2022 funding will aim to get more volunteers on board and will run from June 1 to 24, with participants challenged to reach 3139 push-ups to put a spotlight on the tragic number of suicides in Australia in 2020.

"(Last year's figure) meant we could train an extra four volunteers," Ms Renato said.

"So recruiting and training volunteers is the biggest expense and has the greatest impact. For every volunteer we recruit and train, not only can we answer an additional 300 calls a year from people needing our help, the training that they gain from becoming an accredited crisis supporter - their family, friends, work colleagues, neighbours - all garner the benefit of that as well."

Ms Renato estimates the ripple effect from one volunteer being trained is about another 60 people in the community benefitting from that training.

A significant volunteer commitment of 12 months training, and then a further four or five months before they take to the phone, takes place under the guidance of a dedicated and qualified training coordinator.

Ms Renato said the team operated the national hotline for the region from the Bendigo centre, and last year answered 11,000 calls.

"This year we expect to be well over 15,000, so a significant increase, and we do that wholly from the skills, commitment and dedication of our 80 active volunteers," she said.

"We are absolutely here for, and are trained and skilled to be able to help people through what we call imminent need, but I think more than anything, people who are reaching out a lot sooner.

"We develop safety plans for people if we're concerned about their safety, but more than anything we provide support and connection to empower them to make decisions to change their lives.

Ms Renato said there could be a huge diversity in the calls the team received, from talking to young girls who were struggling with social media challenges to speaking with older people who had perhaps lost a partner or were struggling financially.

"It's a whole range of people who are reaching out to us," she said.

"We're always recruiting for more volunteers so that we can back-fill that because it's this kind of role where people can get burnt-out, and particularly during COVID there has been massive amount of burn-out."

Ms Renato said shortages nationally had resulted in the Lismore call centre being completely offline at present, and that had put even more pressure on the network as a whole.

Push-Up Challenge participants can sign up now to make a difference - to track their efforts, as well as their team or organisation's progress - helping Lifeline to continue their mammoth efforts with more than 3000 calls across the country each day.

This translates to one call every 30 seconds from someone in crisis, and more funds will mean more support for those people.

Those interested in taking part can visit thepushupchallenge.com.au/beneficiary to register or donate. For more information, email admin@lifelinecvm.org.au

Those needing support can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 support. Text support is also available 24/7 on 0477 13 11 14.

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